BuildingIndia

Democratic distribution of electrical power

2011-10-07T02:01:00.000-07:00

This post is about the (mis)use of electrical power in energy deficient India and shows that the current allocation of electrical power is a cause of many problems that India faces.

Country running on UPS and inverters:
                UPS and inverters are as common in Indian house holds as salt. This is true not just in cities but also in villages. The reason behind this is that one knows that power cuts are regular, unpredictable and very often. The reason behind power cuts is that India does not have enough power generation plants. The reason there are not enough power generation plants is that there is not enough fuel.
                India has a shortage of all types of fuels. It imports the petrol for transport, it imports coal for thermal power plants, it imports uranium for nuclear power, it even imports hydro power from Bhutan and to top it all India imports cooking oil to power its human population. You can see the wastage of energy everywhere in India.
               UPS and inverters are used to run only the essentials, like a bulb in each room, or a computer in the office.No one uses inverters to run Televisions or music systems. When there is a short supply, it is common sense to prioritize the needs and use the resource cautiously. Indians do that in their home, but collectively as a nation they do not.
               Take for example, if a city has given amount of power will it use it to light up neon signs and keep hospitals in the dark. No, but that is what happens in every Indian city. In one part of the city, usually where poor people live or on the outskirts, power cuts are more often and hospitals and houses are without power while in the central part of the city, the neon signs and the bill boards are lit.

             The smaller towns endure longer power cuts, in villages the power is available only for a few hours and voltage fluctuations are high. People wonders whose needs are more important, a hospital in a village/town near New Delhi/Mumbai etc or a bill board in new Delhi/Mumbai which consumes enough electricity that can power a hospital.

                      The argument of economics fails here as the hospital is paying for bills and when there is a shortage of resources, the state has a duty to do a fair allocation of resources. More on economic arguments below.

The downward spiral of darkness:
   No human being would like to live in darkness. So those living in villages want to move to cities, those living in out skirts want to move in central parts of cities. So the resourceful will move out of town and those places will become less desirable.
                But what about the business, the factories, the shops. They find it more and more difficult to operate. If they buy generators, the cost increases. This adds to the inflation numbers every week.
                As with any other services, you would not like to pay if the service is not good. You will not pay a restaurant if it doesn't serve you food when you need it. Same with the power supply. If the power supply is eratic and unpredictable, there will be a point where the consumer will say I will not pay for this service. This is what has started happening is villages and small towns.

The problems of Power(ful):
                        The places where the power supply is regular and good, have their problems for the same reason. The big cities have too many people living in them. More and more people want to live in big towns because that is where all the power is. People need jobs, medical facilities etc and as we have seen business are moving out of small town, so are people.
                       This brings the problems of overcrowded big cities. Traffic jams and high commuting time are a daily affair in big cities. Over crowding is straining the physical and service infrastructure. There is a shortage of water in all the big cities and public health facilities are insufficient. The quality of life in cities is deteriorating.

The failure of economic arguments:
                         India has a complex web of subsidies which have the intention of supporting the poor, but largely end up supporting the rich.
                         It is true, that farmers are getting free electricity, which is wrong but the electricity that they get is so little and of such quality that no one can ask them to pay for it. The supply to farms is during midnight, when there is less need in cities, the voltage fluctuations damage the water pumps, the supply is not predictable, it will be there on one day and not the next, the farmer cannot plan his day or irrigation of field. How can one pay for this kind of service. Electricity to farmers is used for production and an increase in its cost will increase cost of food to city dwellers. So most of the farmers have turned to diesel generators which is also subsidized. But more of the subsidized diesel is being burnt in SUVs in the traffic jams of large cities.

                     Lets stick to electricity. The street lights in cities are also subsidized. So is most of the consumption for government offices. The electricity dues of the government and politicians are waved of more often that farmers dues. Even if the government pays for it , it is by taking that money off from other services that the government is supposed to give.


The solution:
                      Prioritize the use of electric power. India has a shortage, that means it need to give priorities to the requirements. Some public services like hospitals, schools etc must have higher priorities than other consumption like marriages, or neon signs.

                       Put a cap on use by individual or events. This will lead to more innovation in efficiency and usage of the power. For example, a shop can use only 500W for the name sign on the board or a shop can use a total of 2000W. Such measures will lead to shopkeepers investing in efficient lightning. For example, a public ceremony, like marriages or Durga pooja, Dasheera etc. there can be a limit on the electricity consumed.
                      Some consumption can be totally stopped till the requirements of first priority is fulfilled across the country. Example here is bill boards vs hospitals. Till there is enough electricity that no hospital is facing a powercut, no bill boards should be allowed to use electricity. Some of these suggestions may sound impractical, but there is no denying that the situation has reached alarming levels.

Abhinav
07 Oct 2011

India Vs Chiina:: Democracy Vs Dictatorship

2010-07-25T02:55:00.000-07:00

If India has to get better than China, it needs more democracy not less, as some India-China observers suggest.

Anyone who has visited India and China, will tell you that the difference between the two is of a few decades, obviously China is ahead. Even the Prime Minister of India declared in 2005 that he wants to make Mumbai like Shanghai. I hope he meant only physical infrastructure because Mumbai has a history and culture of itself.

The observers also tell you in one word that the reason why India is not able to progress as fast as China is 'democracy', which delays decision making as it allows people to raise objections and demand compensation. I beg to differ. Here I will present evidence that India has far too many dictators and their whims and fancies delays progress and creates chaos.

Dictatorship begins at home:
Like all good practices begin at home, dictatorship in India also begins at home. Usually the male head of the family behaves like a dictator. He would decide things that need to be bought, where to holiday and what the kids career should be.

Like China, in India also one of the surest way to getting ahead in life is to get good education and given the size of the population there is stiff competition for every opportunity. So the kids need to study hard, many hours a day, some kids study 12 hrs a day from the age of 15 or 16. Nothing wrong with that, except that they do it not out of their own drive but because their father wants them to be an Engineer or Doctor. This goes on for many youngsters till they are 24 or 25, only the name of the exam changes.

How does it affect development? As the number of opportunities are limited only a few kids get through, the rest come out of the process after loosing a few years of life. On any given day in India there are millions of youth who are not contributing to the society in any productive manner, but only as consumers of education services. They simply sit at home and study for a exam. All this youth energy if free to contribute the way they think is right can transform the country in a little time, but the dictator will not allow it to happen. Meet any young person in India and the chances are that he/she has spent a year or two appearing for exams.

Another example of 'Dictator Dad', when the young try to marry a person of their choice the 'dictator dad' steps in and takes it upon himself to find a suitable match for his grown up boy/girl. These young people who are sensible enough to elect their own govt and are allowed to vote are not allowed to choose their life partner. The dictators find a solution within the limits of income group, caste, religion, region etc. The youth hardly get a say, they nod. Those who revolt are often murdered and it is called 'Honour Killing'.

Leaders as Dictators:

India has more dictators of mass appeal than all the communist nations combined. Even the leaders of China would envy the political leaders of India. India has a plethora of political parties and the leader of each party is a dictator. Almost all of them are Party President for life time or till they give up the position for their son/daughter or a kin. Their wish is a command for the party cadre. Even their perceived wishes are command enough to come out on the streets to protest. Some of these dictators are literally worshiped by party men everyday. They are placated by naming bridges, flyovers, markets etc after them.

No communist dictator can dream of such a thing. In India's political party, if someone is not happy with the dictator leader, he or she is free to break out and start their own party and become a dictator in it. And they do.

How does it affect development?
The dictators wish is a command for other party men, ministers and even bureaucrats. Hence all the development is concentrated in the few places which the dictators or their men favor, secondly everyone wants to be close to the dictator and keep him/her pleased.

Here are some examples of the dictators effect on development.
Even the aspiring politicians who are supposed to be close to people and understand peoples problems make a bee line to the dictators house to get nominations. So the politicians don't waste time in solving peoples' problems, instead they spend time keeping the dictators happy.

The area most severely affected by the Naxals, is mineral rich but lags far behind the rest of the country, the reason, no politician came from those areas who could find favor with the dictator or be a dictator in himself for his/her constituents.

The dictators, in order to increase their followers distribute favors, from free electricity to a law that requires grains to be packed in jute bags. For a poor and hungry country can let its grains rot in jute bags as the bags, unlike plastic bags, are not weather proof but not displease the dictators. Amartya Sen told you that famines don't occur in democracies, he was right. If India had more democracy, even malnutrition would not occur.

Why Indian dictators delay progress?
Lets comeback to the central point of discussion, the delay in progress. One of the significant ways in which Dictators in India differ from those in China is their decision making time. Indian society being so diverse and stratified, makes it difficult for the dictators to understand whom to favor and how to satisfy so many constituents. The constituents are not opposing each other or revolting against the dictator, they merely ask for their share of the pie. The share is to be decided even before the pie is made. Deciding how to share the pie takes a lot of time that adds up in the time taken to make the pie.

An easy example is the Common Wealth Games (CWG) to be held in Delhi in Oct 2010. Although everyone wants the games to take place, but everyone wants their share of the pie first. Hence the plethora of agencies responsible for the different works. The half baked pie gets created and distributed. Dictators don't make the 'sub-dictators' accountable for the shoddy work done. The work for CWG is far from complete.

Democracy is the solution:
The more democracy increases, the less dictators powers will be. More democracy will result in more people demanding rational decisions. Rational decisions results in rational allocation of resources and more efficiency. Democracy will allow people to ask for accountability. That is the path of development that India must take and as all good things democracy must begin at home.

The MF Hussain saga, and the law breaking elites

2010-03-06T02:10:00.001-08:00

Here are some points that the liberal elites forgot to mention.

Unlike Taslima, Hussain has been victimized more by the govt. than by the radical elements in the society. He has a Non Bailable warrant issued on him by a court. May be he didn't spend enough on the lawyers.

The elites on the TV argue that the cases are frivolous, is it not for the courts to decide that the cases are frivolous or not. Is it not for the courts to decide, if someones sentiments were hurt or not?

That said, any artist or any citizen is not above the law of the land or do the so called 'liberals' want a provision that law shouldn't be applicable on selective people. The counter argument is that law is already weak and selectively applied, but that does not mean we give permission for further abuse of law.

Indian elite has a tendency of avoiding law, and MF Husain has done the same. Social and political leaders have spent time in jail, if Mr. Hussain would have submitted himself to courts and spent some time in jail, he wouldn't have become less of an artist.
But the elite has to show it again and again that they are above the law and Mr. Hussain has done it again.

Gandhiji belongs to the world and times to come

2009-03-04T03:32:00.000-08:00

Dear Mr.Otis,
Many thanks for bringing Gandhiji in the news again.

A coincidence that the current global crisis needs more of Gandhi than any other guru to reign in the greed and arrogance that the consumer culture has glorified.

As you have mentioned Gandhiji himself was against material possessions more than what is required. India must live with the spirit of Gandhiji's lessons rather than his memorabilia. Just like the remains of Buddha were distributed across the country and kept in Stupa, similarly Gandhiji's belonging should also be distributed across the world which is so consumed by violence and consumerism.Gandhiji, like Buddha belongs to the world and so do his memorabilia.

Gandhiji is correctly called the 'father of the Nation' and I am happy to tell you that there are many 'Sons and daughters of the Nation' in India. They are born across the length and breadth of this vast country and across the economic and social spectrum. Many wear a torn jeans and many barely have a roof on their head. The only proof of their existence is India. Thriving, inspite of all the odds, one inspite of all the diversity. Its peaceful reaction to violence and its acceptance of humanity. The victims of violence (riots or bombs) are not weak or coward, but believe that more violence is not a solution. It is to these people that the memorabilia of Gandhiji belongs. They will silently feel that something has been taken away from them. In the spirit of Gandhiji, they will not raise resources to buy them at 'market value', they will not resort to stealing.

I humbly request you to donate it to a museum in the most violence ridden place, Palestine (Gaza or west bank) to take the spirit of non-violence to the people who need it the most. Kindly also mention it as a gift from their brethren of all race and religion across the world. As Martin Luther King, Fr.Desmond Tutu and Nelson Mandela have demonstrated that non-violence is the only way to achieve equality, perhaps its time the Israelis and Palestinians give it a try.

Regards
Abhinav Bhatnagar
India

P.S:
I also share your concern for the poverty ridden slums in India. I have written in various aid forums, that as long as the corrupt leaders know they can safely stash their money in Swiss banks and Tax havens, there can be no progress on the ground. I also acknowledge the main reason for poverty is India's character of not being firm in implementing the law. This lack of firmness in implementing the rules was evident in Gandhiji also when he asked Netaji S.C.Bose to step down from the leadership of Congress and allow J.H.Nehru to lead the party.

Sons and daughters of this nation are working to rectify that and other remaining weakness in this country to create a better world. In Gandhiji's words, "who lives if India dies".

Call your politician campaign

2009-02-25T23:18:00.000-08:00

Hi,
We encourage individuals t tell their needs to office bearers of political parties in their locality by calling them on their office/mobile phone.
Tell them what you think of recent political decisions or what should be the policy that govt should take.
You can say things like, "If you want my vote, don't put a criminal as candidate"
You can say "budget deficit should be a issue"
or say anything that you like.
or you can say any of thee following:
There are other issues , I want Jagore TV/Print campaigns to take up
2) No student politics in Universities
3) Increase working hours for judiciary and limit holidays to same as central govt. employees.
4) Each Agriculture University should be allowed to operate a FM radio channel.
5) Supplements of News papers, should be separately billed and should not be allowed free. All supplements print bakwaas.
6) No Tax waiver for IPL company and players, as they are not playing for the country.
7) Website for govt departments should show expenditure, I want to know how they use the tax payers money.

If you can add more, please write them in comments.

True Dummy- A fable for today's youth

2009-01-06T10:19:00.000-08:00

True Dummy, shall inspire the ordinary to take up something extraordinary. Its stories and oneliners will be shared by friends to cheer them up, to not to loose hope, to continue and realize.

India Release of True Dummy at Crossword BookStore.
True Dummy Release Schedule
New Delhi 20th January 2009, Tuesday@ 6:30 pm:
True Dummy India release by Dr. R.K. Pachauri, Chairman, IPCC – Noble Peace Prize, 2007 at Crossword Delhi, Select City Mall Press Enclave Road, Saket, New Delhi -110 017

Chennai 22nd January 2009, Thursday @ 10:00 am:
Interactive Session by Ashish Jaiswal at Sarang 2009 , IIT- Madras. Sarang , the annual cultural festival conducted by IIT-Madras draws more than 20,000 people across all ages.
@ 6:30 pm:
True Dummy book signing and reading event at Crossword Chennai, 1st Floor, Kuppu Arcade,
Venkatnarayana Road, Near Panagal Park, T. Nagar, Chennai - 600 017.

Kharagpur 24th – 25th January 2009, Saturday - Sunday
Ashish Jaiswal at Springfest 2009
the annual cultural festival conducted by IIT-Kharagpur which is expecting around 50,000 students this year.

Mumbai 27th January 2009, Tuesday @ 6:30 pm:
True Dummy book signing and reading event at Crossword Mumbai, Level 1, Shoppers Stop, Suburbia, Linking Rd, Bandra (W), Mumbai - 400 050.

Guwahati 30th January 2009, Friday @ 10:00 am:
Ashish Jaiswal at Alcheringa 2009 , IIT- Gwahati. Alcheringa, the annual cultural festival conducted by IIT-Gwahati is expecting more than 20,000 students this year.

Pune 31st January 2009, Saturday @ 11:00 am:
True Dummy book reading and signing at Fundamental 2009 , the annual cultural festival of Symbiosis Institute of Design.
@ 6:30 pm:
True Dummy book signing and reading event at Crossword Pune, ICC Trade Towers
ICC Trade Towers, Senapati Bapat Road, Pune - 411 016.

Vellore 2nd Feb 2009, Monday

Ashish Jaiswal at Rivera 2009 , the twenty-fifth year celebration of Vellore Institute of Technology.

Bengalooru 3rd Feb 2009, Tuesday @ 6:30 pm:
True Dummy book signing and reading event at Crossword Bengalooru, Residency Road
Books & More Enterprises, Ground Floor, ACR Towers, 32, Residency Road, Bengalooru – 1

Kolkata 6th Feb 2009, Friday@ 6:30 pm:
True Dummy book signing and reading event at Crossword Kolkata, Elgin Road
8, Elgin Road, Between Forum and Bhowanipore College, Kolkata - 700 020.- 1 .

चयन नहीं चुनाव चाहिए :

2008-12-07T22:57:00.000-08:00

राजनितिक दलों के हित में है की प्रत्याशियों का चयन नहीं चुनाव करें

हाल ही में हुए ६ राज्यों के चुनावों को सेमीफाइनल भी कहा जा राह है क्योंकि वो कुछ ही महीने बाद होने वाले लोकसभा चुनाव का रुझान दर्शाएंगे । इन चुनाव से दो बातें साफ़ तौर से उभर कर आई हैं। पहली ये की निर्वाचन आयोग के कड़े रवैये से चुनाव में पैसे और बाहुबल का उपयोग कम हुआ है, जिसके कारण चुनाव शान्ति पूर्ण और साफ़ सुथरे ढंग से हुए। दूसरी बात ये की सभी मुख्य दलों के अन्दर के झगडे जनता के सामने आ गए।

चुनाव आयोग के कड़े रुख का नतीजा है की शहर की दीवारें साफ़ हैं, ट्रेफ्फिक जाम हैं लगे, गुंडागर्दी नहीं हुई और ना ही शराब, साड़ी इत्यादी देकर मतदाता को करीदा गया। आम आदमी का जीवन सामान्य रूप से चलता रहा।

मुख्या दलों की अंदरूनी लडाई के कारण आखरी समय पे नेताओं का दल बदलना या निर्दलिये का मैदान में उतरना सभी राज्यों में देखा गया। इसका मुख्या कारण है की दल उम्मेदवार उसी को बनते हैं जीके पास पैसा या पहुँच है। यह बात राहुल गाँधी ने भी स्वीकारी है। इसका असर मार्गरेट अल्वा जी वरिष्ट नेता पर भी देखा गया, जिनके परिजनों को कर्णाटक में उम्मेदवारी नहीं मिली। ये बीमारी बी.जे.पी में भी है। सुषमा स्वराज के बनाये गए उम्मीदवार मध्य प्रदेश में अपने ही दल के बागी नेता से हार गए। स्थानीय टी.व्ही. चैनल अंदरूनी लडाई को छुपने नहीं देते। इससे नेताओ के कुकर्म भी उजागर हो जाते हैं। एक तरफ़ ये जनता के लिए अच्छा है तो दूसरी तरफ़ पार्टी मुख्यालय में बैठे वरिष्ठ नेताओं के लिए सर दर्द है। इसका एक ही इलाज है, की उम्मीदवारों का चयन दिल्ली में बैठे नेता न करें वरन, निर्वाचन क्षेत्र के कार्यकर्ता चुनाव के दुआर करें।

सुविधा के लिए हम इसे 'पार्टी चुनाव ' कह सकते हैं, जो की आम चुनाव के २ महीने पहले होने चाहिए। इन चुनाव में केवल दल के कार्यकार्ताअथवा सदस्यों को ही मत का आधीकार होगा और सिर्फ़ उस क्षेत्र के ही मतदाता होंगे। जो भी नेता अपनेआप को आम चुनाव में जीतने के काबिल समझते हैं, वे उम्मेदवार बन सकते हैं। फिर वो पार्टी सदस्यों के बीच अपना प्रचार प्रसार कर के उनके मत लेने की कोशिश करें। ये अमेरिका में होने वाली प्राईमरी प्रक्रिया के तरफ़ ही है। साफ़ बात है की जो उमीदवार अपने ही दल के सदस्यों के मत नहीं प्राप्त कर सकता वो जनता के मत क्या प्राप्त करेगा। जिसने अपने दल में अधिकतम मत प्राप्त किए हैं वो ही पार्टी को जीता सकता है। पार्टी को उसे ही उम्मेदवार बना होगा।

आप कहेंगे की आज के दौर में जहाँ निहित स्वार्थ की रखा के लिए तंत्र और चुनाव प्रणाली को तोड़ मरोड़ दिया जाता है वहां 'पार्टी चुनाव ' कौन करना चाहेगा। निम्नलिखित कारणों से 'पार्टी चुनाव ' अपनाना मुख्या की हित में है:

मुख्या दलों को अच्छे से पता है की अंदरूनी इसे के चलते चुनाव जीतना बहुत मुश्किल हो जाता है। पार्टी के नेता एवं सदस्य ये कहकर दल बदल लेते हैं की उनकी सुनवाई नहीं होती। इससे छोटे दलों को फायदा मिलता है जो की बड़े दलों का वोट काटते हैं। 'पार्टी चुनाव ' से सभी को अपनी बात कहने का अवसर मिलेगा और उन्हें सुनवाई नहीं होने की शिकायत नहीं होगी।
मुख्या दलों में कार्यकर्ताओं में ये भावना आ रही है की उम्मेदवार का चयन अनुचित ढंग से किया जाता है। जिसमे धन, बाहुबल, और बड़े नेताओं से करीबी होना आवश्यक होता है। इसीसे दलों की सदस्यता भी कम होती जा रही है। 'पार्टी चुनाव ' से कार्यकर्ताओं में ये भावना नहीं रहेगी।

चुनाव के पूर्व असंतोष के कारण नेता एवं कार्यकार्ता दल बदल लेते हैं। इसके कारण मत तो जाते ही हैं, और पार्टी को भी शर्मसार होना पड़ता है और वरिष्ठ नेता की छवि ख़राब होती है। इन बागी नेताओं को लगता है की कोई चोटी पार्टी इन्हे बड़ा पद देगी और इनका भविष्य उज्जवल होगा। जैसा की महाराष्ट्र में नारायण राणे, छगन भुजबल के साथ हुआ। अगर 'पार्ट चुनाव ' होता है तो बागी नेता का सही मूल्य सबके सामने आ जाएगा। फिर उन्हें बदलने का कोई कारण नहीं होगा और जीस दल में वो जन चाहते हैं उसे भी उनका सही मूल्य पता होगा।

'पार्टी चुनाव' कारण का एक कारण ये भी है की जो नई पढ़ीके मतदाता हैं वे शिक्षित और विचार विमर्श चाहते हैं। उनको रुझान का तरीका है की उन्हें अपनी बात कहने का अवसर दिया जाए। वे लडाई झगडा करके, या पुतले जलाकर अपना मत नहीं बताना चाहते। अगर कोई पार्टी इन्हे रुझान चाहती है तो उसे ये दिखाना होगा की वो नए दौर के तौर तरीके अपना रही है।

'पार्टी चुनाव ' करवाने का आव्हान पार्टी के कार्यकार्ता को भी करना होगा, इससे ही उसका भविष्य उज्जवल होगा और मुखाल्या में बैठे वरिष्ठ नेताओं का सर दर्द कम होगा। एक अतिरिक्त फायदा ये भी होगा की बहुत से लोग तो राज्यों की राजधानी एवं दिल्ली तक का ट्रेन का सफर करते हैं वो अपने निर्वाचन क्षेत्र का दौरा करेंगे और ट्रेन में भीड़ नहीं बढायेंगे।

Lessons from Mumbai part I

2008-12-07T11:05:00.000-08:00

Here is a set of guidelines for people, institutions, media, police and politicians to be followed in emergency situations. Get these guidelines implemented.

REASON for making these guidelines.
 Our awareness and readiness is our first defense.
 The more prepared we are, the more difficult it will be for them.
 The more we tolerate our own follies the less prepared we become.
 The more time we spend in discussion, the more time we give the terrorists for planning.
 Chaos is a friend of our enemies.

EMERGENCY can be: Fire/Stampede/ Earth quake/Terrorism action like Bomb blast or firing

1.Guidelines for Public places.( like Hotels, Cinema halls, Railway station, Shopping malls, colleges, religious places, Hospitals)
a.Have at least 10 stretchers, kept in an accessible place to carry the injured.
b.Mark a clear path for emergency services to come in and go out in minimum time. These should be marked on all gates.
c.Have 1 drill each quarter for the emergency situations like fire, stampede, blasts.
d.Have loud alarms to make everyone in any corner aware of emergency and that means escape through the emergency exit.
e.Have ‘cordon tape’ or ‘barrier tapes’ to cordon of the area where entry is not allowed.
f.Staff should know what to do in case of emergency.
i.Whom to report to in office in case of emergency.
ii.How to escape
iii.How to report emergency to nearest police/hospitals.

2.Guidelines for People
a.Don’t crowd around the scene of action. Go home and sit tight. Even a few minutes delay in arrival of the police vehicles due to crowd can give terrorist enough time to recuperate.
b.The moment you hear loud noises of gunfire/explosion, lie down on the ground.
c.Don’t panic. Panic can cause stampede. Chaos helps to serve the purpose of terrorists.
d.You gain nothing if you waive your hands in front of TV cameras. This is emergency, not a Cricket match.
e.During emergency situations, only bonafied passengers should go to Railway stations or Airports, this will reduce traffic and ease police checking in these areas.
f.Keep your eyes and ears open while traveling. A rashly driven vehicle on the road can be that of the terrorist. Don’t ignore that, inform police about it.

3.Relatives of hostages
a.Should be given a separate waiting area inside a nearby building and not kept waiting on streets.
b.Fix the number of family members allowed on scene. 2 or 3 members only.
c.Make sure only the healthy ones are allowed.
d.No heart patients, children or old relatives should be allowed, as the scene can be traumatizing and affect them psychologically for a long time to come.

4.Guidelines for police
a.Cordon off the scene and put barricade. (Two bystanders were hit when bullets went astray during the encounter at Taj hotel)
b.Have ‘cordon tape’ or ‘barrier tapes’ to cordon of the area where entry is not allowed.
c.Mark a clear path for the coming and going of the vehicles like police cars, ambulances, fire brigades. (at the Nariman house, people were crowding the narrow lanes and the vehicles had a very slow speed.)
d.Clamp a total curfew in the area.
e.Allow movement of emergency vehicles only. (Young boys were walking from one terror scene to another as if they are going form one tamasha to another.)
f.Hospitals must be given a number to report the number of beds with them in case of emergency. This number will then guide the ambulances to the hospital which is ready.
g.A emergency frequency must be there for telecom communication. Around the action scene, all frequency except the emergency frequency should be jammed using frequency jammers.)
h.During emergency situations, only bonafied passengers should be allowed on Railway platforms or Airports, this will reduce traffic and ease police checking in these areas.

5.Guidelines to the media in emergency situations.
a.Limit the number of journalist per channel. 2 at most.
b.Don’t poke your mike into a just released hostage.
c.Don’t poke your mike into a commando/policeman who has just come out of a grueling battle.
d.Don’t air comments by bystanders as they only add to the rumor and don’t give authoritative and concrete information.
e.Respect the limits set by police. (one India TV reporter was shown standing right behind a NSG commando, he should be taken to court for obstructing military operations)
f.Don’t take positions in nearby buildings for a better shot as even one bullet hitting a journalist is success for the terrorists.
g.Don’t air the relatives of policeman or victims unless they give you explicit permission to make their grief public. Respect their privacy in these extremely painful situations.
h.If you have made a wrong reporting, say SORRY.

6.Guidelines for Politicians:
a.Politician should refrain from giving comments to the media, unless they have credible information.
b.Don’t visit a martyr’s house unless you have been given permission by his/her relatives.
c.Don’t announce compensation, till the incident is over and you know you can deliver.
d.Local MLA/MP should come on air and ask the people to remain indoors and cooperate with police.
e.Be quick to seek help from other state police/NSG/Army and private agencies.
f.Politicians should use their party machinery to prevent spread of rumors.
g.When paying tribute to martyrs, don’t highlight your own name or that of your party workers.
h.Say SORRY. That’s what people want to hear. Not saying sorry shows your arrogant incompetence. Say SORRY to people.

These guidelines should be widely circulated in public using all media, (Radio/Print/TV/ internet/ mobile) to be circulated among public at the earliest and repeatedly at the time of emergency. F possible take them to Police, Media, and your company/college etc. for implementation.
Translate into Indian languages.

Wanted election not selection: Practice democracy in the party then preach it to people.

2008-12-07T11:00:00.000-08:00

The recent polls in 6 states of India, also called semifinals, as they are only a few months before the general elections have been marked by two noticeable things. One is tighter control by EC on expenses and other activities of the candidates. The second is more than expected in party fighting within the major political parties.

The result of the tighter control by EC is that the candidates will have to make more sensible efforts to woo the voters. They cannot just distribute goodies to poor people or send hordes of workers creating noise and traffic jams. The common mans life is running normally.

The result of the second is that fringe parties have high hopes of bagging a seat. Also, as more and more members from within the party want to expose the weakness of their rival, more revelations are being made of the wrong doing by party members. This is a headache for the bosses sitting in Delhi and state capitals. In a certain way is good for the people but is still far from what democracy can achieve in India. The only way to resolve this is by election of candidates, rather than selection. The political parties should hold an internal election for those who desire to be candidates from a constituency.

For sake of convenience, lets call them ‘Party elections’. In these elections, only the registered party workers from that area should be allowed to vote. Each vote shall have the same weightage and party office bearers should be the same as the party worker. During the campaign for ‘party elections’, candidates shall give reasons to the party workers as to why they are best fit to contest the elections and why their possibility of winning it for the party is high.

Although this suggestion can be scoffed at, saying that it is impractical given the existing vested interest and system created to serve that interest, there are ample reasons why this is the only solution. Here are few compelling reason.
Parties realize that they cannot win an election with infighting and without the support of party workers. The regular membership of the parties is decreasing by the day as most get disenchanted when they feel that they are not being heard. The ‘party election’, will allow everyone to be heard. Whosoever wins the party election, the party will support him/her.
Then there is feeling of unfairness in the party workers when it comes to selection of candidates. So much so that senior leaders like Margret Alva and Rahul Gandhi have acknowledged that money, power and closeness to ruling families are the criteria to get the party nominations. This feeling is in all political parties. If there is election, there will be no such allegations.
When there is dissatisfaction, some leaders leave the parties just before the election to join rival parties, in the hope that they will get a bigger role in those parties. This costs the big parties a loss of face and votes. If there is a ‘party election’, and some leaders loose it, then they will have little reason to leave the party and go to rival. As they will know their true worth and so will everybody.
As the new educated voters emerge and want to participate in the political process, they will demand themselves to be heard. No party can attract them without giving them a decent method to express their opinion. They cannot hustle and justle with the crowd and will leave the affairs to less educated. They want politics to be a arena of ideas and views not of physical strength and money strength. If any party wants to attract these young and educated people, they would do well to initiate internal elections. Only then can it hope to attract the new generation.

Hence these are compelling reason why it is important for the mainstream parties to implement ‘party elections’. It is not just upto the bosses in Delhi or state capitals but its time the party workers start demanding ‘party elections’ to brighten their prospects and that of the country.

Will Pakistan stop the Nuclear Deal

2008-08-05T02:17:00.000-07:00

The ruling UPA govt. has put a lot of energy in saving the Nuke deal in India, but has it underestimated the problems in international diplomacy. The Indian press shies away from reporting the problems of India in international diplomacy, as it may be labeled unpatriotic. But that does not make international diplomacy any easier. India seems to have learnt few lessons from its failed bid to the UN Security Council. Getting the deal through the 45 member countries of Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) will demand the best from Indian Diplomats and politicians.

Pakistan, which has always been regarded as a equal to India, in strategic terms by the western powers, will not easily let this parity with India go. Lately Pakistan has realized that it is lagging behind India on all counts and realizes that its nuclear arsenal is the only thing that makes it important to world powers. Secondly its status as an ally to the west in war on terror is also important for the west. Thirdly, it finds an ally in the Oil rich Saudi Arabia, when it comes to matter of aid based on Islam. For all three reasons, in the circles of international diplomacy, it is able to throw a lot more weight than its size merits,

Pakistan did play a role in India's failure to get the UN Security Council. Although USA and China don't support it openly, but it does get the diplomatic help it needs from both of them. Pakistan projects the civil nuclear reason for accelerated arms race in the sub-continent. Although Pak is known for its role in Nuclear proliferation, and India for its role in Non-proliferation, this time Pak will get support from the Non-proliferation lobby. Nuclear non-proliferation holds strong sentiments in some of the NSG member countries like Australia, Japan, Canada and some European countries, where the voters will put all the pressure on their government, not to support India.

The Non-proliferation lobby, will present India's case as rewarding the culprit. As India has not signed the NPT and opposes it still on the grounds of it being not equal, others who have not signed NPT will also be inspired to follow India’s route to legitimacy. Others like Iran, Pakistan, North Korea to pursue Nuclear weapons in the hope that they will be get the desired legitimacy in due course of time as all have genuine need for cheap energy, one of the reasons used by Indian govt to convince people to back the treaty.

Pakistan will also argue, that if energy is so much required in India, why is India delaying the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, which can bring energy and peace, by making strong links in economies across the border. Pakistan has increased efforts to stop the treaty in its tracks. It has sent letters to NSG countries warning of arms race. It has also threatened to pull out of Nuclear control treaties like FMCT,(Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty). This has stirred the threat of nuclear proliferation even among those who were still indifferent. Pakistan also holds significant weight among US law makers as they see it as a vital ally in war on terror. Though many are fed up with the games Pakistan is playing in Afghanistan, but there is little they can do to not to support Pakistan. For this reason, getting the deal through the US congress before the end of George Bush term as president looks too tough a task.

Strategically, as is being projected, that the US will use India as a counter weight to China, China has always been using Pakistan to keep India busy. Chinese would demand strong concession from USA and others to allow India the same privileges that it enjoys. Further, China still does not forgive India for supporting Tibet and has little reasons to allow India or any other Asian country a greater size in the international arena.

The ruling Congress tried to sell the deal as an important milestone in India-US relationships and greatly underestimated the ability of Indian politicians to spin a different story on it. The left and other centre-left went to the press showing it as submission to US and even calling it anti-Muslim. It was when all the damage had been done, that they started emphasizing the Nuclear-energy as an solution to India's energy requirement. For a country, which got a bad deal in Enron power plant in Maharashtra in late nineties and for which GE took the govt. to court, the opposition quickly and easily showed it as a treaty for the benefit of big US corporations.

The scientific community, the politicians and the people of India, still remain divided over the real benefits of the deal. If Manmohan Singh and the Congress party, after winning a slender trust vote, loose the Nuke deal for reasons associated to Pakistan, it will be one of the biggest embarrassment both can ever face and can give a decisive blow to their chances in the looming elections.

Abhinav

30 July 2008

July2008 Issue Cover Page

2008-07-22T23:01:00.000-07:00

New TV Channel -Viacom18, Colors, Seires 'BALIKA VADHU'' promotes Child Marraige

2008-07-21T22:44:00.000-07:00

Friends,

Currently there are promotions of the series that will be shown on
Colors, and one of them has caught my attention. A series names 'Balika Vadhu'. It comes out from the promotions that
this is about Child Marriage.

As you would be well aware, that
Child Marriage is outlawed and is illegal. It was a condemnable
practice and unfortunately still occurs in small numbers in some parts
of India. It would not do any good to the society if this series shows such a
practice as a fancy thing to happen in a child's' life.

Viacom
18 parent, Viacom undertakes well publicized Corporate Social
Responsibility programmes in USA and its subsudary should not indulge
in socially irresponsible broadcasting in India for motives of profit.
Though there are no laws to binding them from showing this series, as a
responsible citizen, one should understand that by showing child
marriage in a positive light, can give a boost to this practice in
sub-urban and rural India.

I would request you to kindly drop a mail to Viacom18 and request them to abstain from showing this series.

Public opinion is the only thing that TV Channels care for.
Below are Email Ids,

VIACOM 18:
communications@viacom18.com
Sonia.huria@viacom18.com

Ministry of Women and Child :http://wcd.nic.in/
min-wcd@nic.in,
secy.wcd@nic.in,
jscd.wcd@nic.in

Leading Child Right NGOs

Child Relief and You
website: http://www.cry.org/general/contactus.html
cryinfo.mum@crymail.org
cryinfo.del@crymail.org

Childline India
website : http://www.childlineindia.org.in/rights.htm
dial1098@childlineindia.org.in

Abhinav

Common Mans Index of Corruption

2008-05-28T11:55:00.000-07:00

Hi All,
trying to figure out a way of accessing how much my quality of life is affected by corruption, here is a measure I came up with.

I invite comments on this and other approaches on the same.

Index of corruption: Or how much you are affected by it in your daily life.

Lets say you buy a house for (x) 20 lakh rupees.
In the transaction, you pay a bribe (c) of Rs, 30,000 or 1.5% of the value.

Then you do the interiors of your house for (y) 3.0 lakh rupees.

Broadly speaking, your lifestyle or standard of living is determined by the value of house and the interiors you have in it.

Index of corruption: c/ y
OR change it into percent by multiplying by 100

In this case 30000/300,000 = 0.1
or 10%

The reasoning is that the money you spent as bribe could have been used to increase the interiors of your house.
Similar corruption is experienced by all the shops in your neighborhood. They pass on the cost to the consumer by increasing their charges.

This should give you a reasonable idea that how much your life can be improved by eliminating corruption and if you find the value enough, then you can do something about it.

I invite comments.

my 2 cents
Abhinav

Private Armies of India

2008-02-07T10:23:00.000-08:00

The Private Armies of India

It’s an old saying, freedom also needs responsibility. One needs strength to save oneself from others, and one needs sensibilities to save one from his/her own follies. This is as true for individuals, communities as well as nations.

For that reason, a country gives to itself a constitution. It’s a guideline for a society, meant not just to protect the weak from the strong but also to protect the strong from themselves. As the sensible know that everyone has different strengths and should be allowed to grow and contribute in his/her own way to the benefit of all. Hence, there are laws (thousands of them) and a process to get justice (painfully slow).

The genie is out of the bottle:

The inability of the state to deliver justice causes frustration in individuals or groups. That’s an opportunity for politician on all sides, left right or centre. Political parties have member who are sometimes also called activist. They are actually private armies of party leaders. Private here meaning they take instructions from individuals and armies, as they are armed and don’t think before using it.

This sena, that sena, this student union, that parishad, this cadre, that youth wing. They come in all colors, orange, white, red, green, blue etc. These people know, they can get away with murder in the name of political unrest. Usually they kill the helpless poor. Its happening in all parts of India, from TN to J&K, from Gujrat to WB, recently Assam joined the list.

The methodology is simple. A small time politician wants to get noticed by the media and make his/her presence felt on the political landscape. He/She pick a flimsy reason, a perceived injustice. Take to the streets, break law. Hit street vendors, they are poor, helpless, underfed, can’t fight. Even kill a few. This has turned into a business for politicians and their network, so today we witness private armies breaking law on flimsiest of the reasons or even without reason just for practice.

Its going out of hand:

Actually they are not political activist, they are mercenaries. They don’t have political beliefs, they switch political parties or ideology like they change clothes. So, even their masters who thought they can control them sometimes find themselves as the target. This is sometimes called a split in the party.

Its really going private. Any one who can assemble a bunch of 20 or so to shout slogans knows he can get away with breaking the law. Break into any individual’s house, break his bones etc whatever they choose to break as long as they have a flimsy reason like hurt sentiments.

The law has become anybody’s donkey. Hit it, break it, overload it (file cases against film stars, sports person for wearing less clothes or disrespecting tradition or country). Do anything but don’t make it strong. If they make it strong, it will kick them.

How and why it keeps growing:

Everywhere you will find people who will not do their job, for one or the other reason like bribe or some enmity etc. Also, there are and have always been people in the society who ignore the larger good to pursue their own good. They say, it’s not my job or its does not hurt me. Thanks to both the set of people mentioned above the law breakers have a field day.

Ignore it at your own peril.

Abhinav

08 Feb 2008

SAVE MUMBAI

2008-02-05T10:39:00.000-08:00

This analysis is based on the example of NewYork and California. The commercial capital is in New York city and Los Angeles, while the political capital of NewYork Sate, is Albany and that of California is Sacramento.

In order to save Mumbai and the rest of Maharashtra, we need to shift the States political capital to Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. The idea is to separate the political and business capital. This is for the following reason

1) Politicians and administration, have first responsibility for the poor of rural MH, but they spend a lot of time hob-nobbing with the Industrialist and film stars of Mumbai. If a poor person has to give a plea to the CM or any minister, he has to travel all the way to Mumbai, and bear the expenses of this city, which is one of the most expensive in the world.

2) Since wages in the Govt. sector don't rise fast, while expenses in Mumbai rise, this forces the Govt. employees towards corruption and they start receiving bribes. This money flows into local economy and further increases cost. Business men from other parts of MH, come to Mumbai to pay bribes, the bribes are spent in Mumbai, this further increases black money and costs.

3) Economic Growth of poorer regions of Maharashtra: It is well known fact that whereever is the political capital, the growth of that region will occur. Hence, there is a call from some leaders for a separate state of Vidarbha. If the capital moves to Vidarbha region, that region will witness economic growth.

Conflict of governance:
1) As the response of 26/11 shows that the various govt agencies don't work harmoniously. It is better that the city is governed by only the municipal corporation. In the current scenario, any action planned by state government is stopped by municipal corporation and vice versa.

Its the only way out.

Similar approach for balanced growth has also been taken by other large states, for example Madhya Pradesh where the commerical capital is Indore in the west, political capital is in Bhopal in the centre and Judicial capital is in Jabalpur in east.

Abhinav

India at 60: Still a Half Baked Democracy

2007-08-16T11:59:00.000-07:00

Why the elected representatives don’t feel the need to serve their voters? Because they were ‘selected’ to be elected.

In a democracy, by definition, people are free to elect their representatives. Practically speaking, that’s not the whole truth. As any person selling cold drink or detergent knows, the consumer can be forced by limiting the choices available. Political parties in India, work more like Network marketing companies.

The ground reality of Indian Democracy:
Let’s say, there is a state legislative assembly election round the corner. Each political party has to decide the candidates for contesting elections in each constituency. So, the probables within the party, show their strengths to the party bosses (in the state or centre) to win nominations. Their strengths are not necessarily their popularity among the party workers or their popularity among the voters or their policies for the people. Strength can be money, connections, caste/religion calculations etc. That’s why, a nomination is called getting the ‘ticket’, as like a travel ticket they are often sold for cash or other favors. So the persons whom the people can vote are ‘selected’ by the party bosses, rather than being ‘elected’ by the party workers. So, we see the probables, making rounds to party head quarters or party bosses rather then convincing their constituency voters. People ‘elect’ the person ‘selected’ by the party bosses. Then, once the people have elected the ‘selected’ candidates, the Chief Minister is not elected by the elected representatives. Keeping the same considerations, the Chief Minister (CM) is also selected by the party bosses. Then the council of minister, which should be appointed by the CM based on competency (as they are executives), is also done in consultation with party bosses. This is only half the democracy that was envisaged by the founding fathers of India.

How it started:
There’s not much point going into historical facts, but lets have a look at the leading political parties. The Congress, Mrs. Indira Gandhi, in her initial years, faced enough opposition within the party to fully abandon internal democracy within Congress. The tradition is still followed. The BJP, it started so small that there were very few candidates to be put up, and there was little need for internal democracy. When they grew big, I guess, they thought internal democracy would be dangerous for their vested interest. Communist, as the name suggest, will never do it. Regional parties are ‘one man’ parties and that (wo)man doesn’t want to loose her/his grip.

Why elected person fulfills the wishes of party bosses rather than the people:
The probables know that getting the nomination (ticket) is not so much in the hands of constituency voters (including party workers) as much as it is in the hands of party bosses. So he/she don’t have to use their brains to find solutions for peoples problems, but to make connections in the ‘Network’ above them and below them. Even after they get elected, they know that re-election is by the same process. So they are supposed to ‘pay back’ the party bosses who gave them the opportunity to ‘serve people’. In a Network-marketing company, you share part of your profits with the network. So the race among politicians is not of making better policies for their people, but of making better network. Politicians know that if they keep their boss happy, they are sure to get promotions. Promotions are also influenced by ‘Network-dynamics’ and not by the work done for the people.

Why this is also the root of corruption:
Once the ‘selected’ person gets ‘elected’, he/she is under pressure to do something for the network. Their first job is to distribute profits in the network. What the elected representative does for the people of the constituency comes secondary, the network comes first. Hence they have to find ways of making money and sharing with network, otherwise they will not be ‘selected’ again. So the politicians have made it a business that whenever there is any transaction (fair/unfair) of the government with any entity outside the government, they must get some benefits. Now this business has grown to such an extent that its beyond their control to stop it. So much so, that even if they have to get their routine fair tasks done, they need to trade benefits. The genie is out of the bottle.

Why national parties are loosing to regional parties:
If a python starts swallowing its tail, it ends up nowhere. This is what is happening to the national parties in India. The tail end of the party, the party workers, have been finding it difficult to get to the right place in the network. They find the network too big to give them any benefit. It first happened at the places farthest from Delhi, the head quarters of national parties. Party workers in Tamilnadu, for example, didn’t want their fate, or the fate of their representative to be decided in Delhi, so they choose to form a Regional party. At least now their fate is decided in Chennai. As in Network marketing, in politics also, a small network is easier to get into and means less profit is to be shared in the network. In the era of coalition politics, this also increases their bargaining power. The same thing happened in Andhra, Maharashtra, Kerala, Karnataka, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Assam, Orissa, J&K etc. The list is getting longer by each election.

How and why to cure:
Total democracy is the only solution. If the national parties want to survive as national parties they will have to cure themselves. Total democracy would mean that political parties establish fair and transparent election mechanisms within the party. This is must for posts within the party and for any elections in the public domain. People who wish to contest the elections should get the opportunity to canvass and convince their constituency within the party, i.e. the party workers. By this only will the political parties gain back the confidence of the people and their workers. This will remove the emphasis on networking and bring back the focus on policies and governance. This will also ensure that leaderships and talents are nurtured. That’s the only way, else India will soon have 30 regional parties making a coalition of the willing for the purpose they seem fit. The half baked chapatti doesn’t tastes good and causes indigestion.

Abhinav
14 Aug 2007

Alternatives to Reservation System - II

2006-08-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

Hi All,

In continuation of the first post, here are answers to some of the questions raised.

A healthy debate is a hallmark of mature and educated
society/group. Hence there is no harm in discussing
the 'issue of reservations' in this group. Unlike
politicians we are trying to finding solutions which
can make our alma mater proud of our education and
intellect.

Having said that, we all agree to the following:
1. 'Affirmitive action' is necessary
2. Affirmaive action should not be only 'reservation
based on caste'.
3. Alternative solution should be based on
 a. data of past experince,
 b. current reality of backward people living in
villages, and
 c. future vision for this country in 21 century.
 d. Global scenario where we as a nation will
compete for market, resources, jobs etc.

On point 1. Giving reason of Merit alone confuses the
argument. Some people assume, that 'Youth for
Equality' (YFE) does not want to help the poor.
Categorically speaking, YFE does want to help the
poor. This includes engineers/doctors and all common
poeple supporting YFE.

On point 2.  Alternative is not just one, it can be a
'basket of solutions' from which each state/
institution/ corporation can use the appropriate
solution. They can be Grace marks, more easily
available student loan at school level or further
liberalization of higher education.

On point 3a. Those praposing further reservation must
provide data(statistics not stories) that past
reservation have been a success and must be continued.

On point 3b. Current reasons for backwardness are more
economic than social. Other reasons are govt.
curuption, inefficincy etc.

On point 3c. It has to be a strong, self reliant
developed nation. All citizens should have equal
opportunity and freedom to pursue thier life.

On point 3d. We will be competing with the other
countries on each front. We need good institutions to
enable our citizens to compete effectively. Note that
the best of Indian Universities which were among the
best in the world like Calcutta, Allhabad, Mumbai,
Varanasi have lost the race globally. This is mainly
due to political interferrence. Can we afford to let
IITs/IIMs/AIIMS/NITs etc to go that way. (Thats the
reason I asked Faculty and staff to oppose reservation
policy)

Friends, lets bring out our thoughts on this and build
a consensus.
I have the following request for those oppsoing
Reservations:
1. First highlight the weakness of the policy then
talk of alternatives (not of merit).
2. The policy is not based on data, current reality
and does not offer a correct solution to the problem.

regards
Abhinav

Alternative to Reservation System

2006-08-21T10:44:00.000-07:00

‘GRACE MARKS’ AS AN ALTERNATIVE TO RESERVATION SYSTEM

History and how it has changed:

Historically the society practiced discrimination in every sphere of life. Be it education, religious places, or even restaurant services. Hence the founding fathers of this country decided that to undo the harm, one has to compulsorily put people together to end discrimination. Moreover, they had experienced little reform in this practice during their lifetime; hence they did not foresee an early end to this problem.

But things have changed a lot since then. Today there is no discrimination on the basis of caste in public matters. In India today, any person belonging to any caste can freely go to temples, hotels, doctors and schools without facing any discrimination on the basis of caste. Keeping this reality of the 21^st century in mind, we need to device new ways of empowerment. Even in private matters like marriage this discrimination is getting lesser importance largely due to films and liberalization.

Bottom-line is, discrimination is fading and amalgamation of the society is taking place. This should be allowed and encouraged and not prevented by force (law) of any kind.

Fix the Blame before fixing the fault:

The so called upper caste people are being wrongly accused of having a strong hold over education or jobs. There has not been a single case in any institution where a capable person has been denied an opportunity on the basis of so called lower caste. Representation has never translated into dominance or discrimination. When statistics show that the so called upper caste proportion in higher education, jobs or professions is more than their proportion in population this shows the following facts.

One is the failure of govt. to create more avenues of higher education by itself or allow private sector to do so. This has resulted in fewer increases in seats while the population has skyrocketed. Second, again is the failure of the Government to provide social education which emphasize on good social practice among the so called lower caste people is also missing. The practice of child marriage, lack of family planning, no emphasis on education and lack of women empowerment are responsible for their backwardness and consequent under representation in higher education. It also means a colossal failure in building minimum infrastructure like roads, electricity, school buildings and providing primary education with adequate quality and quantity.

A doctor, for example, belonging to any caste, creed or religion or country will treat his patient equally irrespective of the above. This has been demonstrated even while treating patients from Pakistan. Same is true for architect/artist/engineer/lawyer etc.

The above example also shows that there is no need to say that all social groups ‘must’ be represented in ‘every’ profession to make them feel empowered. Every individual has her/his choice. The buck clearly stops with the govt. which for reasons of corruption, inefficiency and mismanagement has not been able to do its job. It must stand up and accept the blame before preaching any solution.

Identifying a needy (disadvantaged) person

As mentioned in the beginning, the equivalence of caste and backwardness and caste and discrimination is not true today as much as it was at the time of independence. Although, the fact is that a majority of so called lower caste people remain backward, it cannot be concluded that they are backward because of their caste. As explained earlier the problem is not based on caste. Then, logic dictates that if the problem is not based on caste, solution also should not be based on caste.

Today thanks to computers, we are able to collect and make meaningful interpretation of vast amounts of data. Its time that we can device a system which takes care of each individual rather then lump her/him into a group. In today’s world a disadvantaged person is the one who does not have access to minimum means which enable her/him to compete with others for opportunities available in the society. These minimum means are infrastructure, good teachers, and access to affordable education at primary level. At higher education levels, the list also includes easy credit facility for high cost education.

True empowerment and Equality

Empowerment comes with increase in abilities which are a result of free competition. If a person is unable to enter the competition due to limitations beyond his control then he/she needs help to be able to compete. For example, parental education and income are factors beyond the control of the student which limit his ability to compete. Hence s/he need well educated teachers and academic aid. The above does not mean that s/he must be given compulsory admission or jobs with complete disregard to any abilities. Lack of infrastructure is another factor which is beyond the students control and needs to be compensated. In this regards, institutions/companies can place a ‘grace mark’ system which can be added to students’ performance.

Then, there is also a case for empowerment of institutions or companies. Government can and should be allowed to form laws that create healthy competition and protect the consumer. Government or any other body cannot determine the input prices, quality or selling prices for any business. We have examples in telephony, electricity and host of other things where Government intervention has resulted in loss for consumers and crisis.

Also, there is a case for individuals’ empowerment. Just as the Government can not decide that young people belonging to certain region, caste, religion or background must join defense services or any other profession like doctor, architect, lawyer etc. It can not be allowed to decide that certain profession must make join young people of certain caste, religion, region etc. It is all a matter of choice of an individual.

Hence, as each person is free to apply for admission in any institution or job in any company, for empowerment and equality, the institutions and business must be allowed to determine on their own the ‘grace marks’ they will add while evaluating the performance of the disadvantaged candidate.

Towards a casteless and no discrimination society:

We must decide the ideal society that we wish to create and put a time target on ourselves to achieve it. Here, it must be mentioned that those responsible (Government, again) for creating the sorry state of affairs must stand up and accept the blame for their mistakes. Again, logic dictates that to find a solution we must rely on data (facts) rather than assumptions (rhetoric).

The ideal society is the one where there is no discrimination and which helps the disadvantaged to become empowered, i.e. it teaches a man to fish rather then ask him to beg for it everyday.

Hence the immediate need is to do away with ‘caste’ based empowerment and get on to empowerment based on ‘practical’ disadvantages faced by the disadvantaged. In order to achieve this each education institution (private or public) and each corporate must be given clear statistical parameter which defines disadvantaged in terms of parental income, parental education and infrastructure constraints at the place of education. Then it should be left to the institutions and corporations to determine the ‘grace marks’ they would add to the performance of the individual. This is the only way to end the discrimination and fade away the relevance of caste in the society.

Why to give a Free color T.V. to every Indian.

2006-08-21T10:43:00.000-07:00

Recently the main opposition party in Tamilnadu released its election manifesto for the coming legislative assembly polls. Among other freebies which are common to Indian politics it also promised a free color Television to every household.

On the face of it, it sounds crazy in a state which is still unable to provide basic healthcare and education to all of its people. But, and for many good reasons, this is one of the best things that any political party has promised in recent memory and it should be replicated by other governments and corporate. Here's how it will benefit everyone and save cost and increase tax revenues for the government.

For those who fear about the feasibility of such free distribution, compare it with the free mobile handset scheme that Reliance came up a few years ago. Today a 14 inch color T.V. costs lower than what a mobile used to cost three years ago. The government will earn back(if it has to) from the increased tax and cost savings.

Consider the following.

Today T.V. is the best medium to educate people, not just literacy (for adult/middle age illiterates) but also about health issues. Tamilnadu has the highest cases of HIV in India. Giving T.V. to everyone will help achieve the objectives of government in education and health. Secondly, T.V. will also increase political and social awakening. News channels in India are always eager to show govt. apathy, corruption, crime etc. They are even able to force the govt. into action. With T.V. reaching the lowest rung of the society, their problems and issues will find a wider audience in the society and the govt. This may even improve the law and order conditions as petty crimes are a part of everyday life in slums. Then, by watching programs (also in other language) will improve the language/communication skills of the poorest. This will have a significant impact on their productivity and the kind of jobs they get. This is highly beneficial to the economy as every household employs domestic labor.

On the economic side, the consumer will be the biggest beneficiary. Same as free mobile scheme of reliance lowered the prices in telecom, a T.V. in every household will bring down the cost of cable T.V. With increased penetration and a wider audience the channels will be able to bargain better prices from the advertisers. This increased penetration will also help companies to market their products to this segment which was till now difficult to reach out to. For example, FMCG companies selling soaps/toothpaste etc. will see a increase in sales. Lastly and quite obviously, all the increased economic activity will be taxed by the govt. and will get its share of the pie.

For the social and economic upliftment of people, T.V. is the best tool available today. Cable or DTH (Direct to Home)/ companies can take a few lessons from this scheme. I think if RIL/ADAE would have come with a DTH company, they would have surely given away the T.V. for free.

Date: 02 April 2006

Working at the Bottom of the Pyramid - I

2006-08-21T10:42:00.000-07:00

Brand Bulding opporunity for Companies

I would like to share a unique opportunity for telecom service providers in India. This will result in strong brand building and improving the public perception of the company.

Millions of Indians today use mobile phones and the usage is growing by the day. Millions also use rail network and take long journeys in trains. Many journeys last more then 10 hrs. It is praiseworthy that most of the major rail network is now covered by telecom operators and mobile phone users are able to make calls during lengthy journeys.

Mobile users on trains still face the problem of recharging their mobiles in long journeys. Here again, service providers can come to the rescue of the consumers. They can provide ‘mobile charging boards’ on railway platforms.

Each ‘mobile charging boards’ can have four sockets; will display the Brand name and the punch line of the company. This will give the company high visibility and respect for the brand.

Although Railways has begun to provide such ‘mobile charging boards’ at some stations, these are few and far. Such boards are needed typically at stations where the train halts for 10 min. or more. But even at stations where the stoppage is of less duration, brand visibility is high.

Considering that a 4 socket board costs Rs.100/- in the retail market, the installation cost is not high. Surely, this is a opportunity waiting to be tapped.