Should Prohibition Go in Gujarat?

When the hooch tragedy in Gujarat killed over 130 people (several others are under treatment in different hospitals) the liquor baron Vijay Mallya thought he knew the reason behind the hooch tragedy. Mallya blamed prohibition for the tragedy and stated that it was a wake-up call for the political hypocrites. The question is whether Mallya stop hooch tragedies?

The fact is that he can’t because he has no answers for the hooch tragedies in states like Maharashtra, Tamilnadu and Karnataka where his business is thriving! The Gujarat government is right in asking Mallya to mind his own business. (Actually he was minding his ‘business’)

But as Anil Dharker notes in his interesting article there is no rational or moral reason for Gujarat to continue with its prohibition policy. The Father of the Nation would be happier if the State were to practice the ideals of satya and ahimsa (with no prohibition in place!) instead of the practice of prohibition without the ideals of satya and ahimsa!

Heard of Socialism with American Characteristics?

There is an interesting article by Joseph Stiglitz which speaks of American style of Socialism. Its unique features include

- Socialization of losses and privatization of profits

- Equating the bailing out of bankers and their shareholders with bailing out of banks

- Extension of corporate safety net- from commercial banks to investment banks, then insurance banks and automobiles while forgetting the ordinary citizens

- Bailing out the financial institutions which diverted the billions- intended to enable them to revive lending to payments of outsized bonuses and dividends.

As he states the ‘problem with America’s too-big-to-fail, too-big-to-be-restructured banks: they are too politically powerful. Their lobbying efforts worked well, first to deregulate, and then to have taxpayers pay for the cleanup. Their hope is that it will work once again to keep them free to do as they please, regardless of the risks for taxpayers and the economy.’

Is it time to redefine the rivalry of capitalists n socialists???

Monumental Wonder or Blunder?

Ms Mayawati, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh (UP), probably thought that erecting huge monuments in UP would bring her accolades and would also give visibility to her concern for ‘Dalit Cause’. But as noted by Amrit Dhillon in The Times of India, has Ms Mayawati squandered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? Read the entire article here.

Surely, this appears to be more of a monumental blunder than a monumental wonder!!