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!!

Wondering who is really a Criminal?

The recent cabinet decision to withdraw the criminal cases against the supporters of the Reddy Brothers (RBs) has left the concerned citizens confused and shocked. If you are still asking questions, the home minister Mr Acharya has the answers. Here is what he said about the decision to drop criminal cases against the supporters of the RBs. This in a way sums up the law and order situation in Karnataka.

The Farmers and the Dalits in different parts of this State have been slapped with number of criminal cases. But the pity is that the arms of justice (read as the arms Home Minister and His team) do not reach them as easily as they have reached the RBs and their supporters. Look at the paradox- the farmers have no right to protest against the land acquisition (eg Bellary for Airport, Bangalore for NICE and SEZ, Mangalore for SEZ) or against the inadequate supply of agricultural inputs (eg farmers protests against inadequate supply of fertilizers Haveri) but the supporters of RBs can even destroy a two-century old temple because it came in the way of their mining business.

How can the needs of the Farmers and the Dalits take precedence over the greed of RBs? For the farmers it may be a question of physical survival but for the BJP it is a question of political survival!

Well, it depends who is a criminal in this State and who can get the criminal cases dropped against one’s name....

But Farmers, Dalits and Minorities beware!

Gaon Chodab Nahin- Lovely Satire on the Present Development Model

Welcome to the Sick Capital of Sick State!

‘Health is wealth’ goes a popular saying. Given the present circumstances, the people of Karnataka and more specially the Bangaloreans would not hesitate to go around shouting this slogan. As in the case of money the people realize the importance of health in its absence. ‘Don’t fall sick if you are in Bangalore’ was the headline in one of the dailies. Such is the seriousness of the deteriorating health situation in the capital city.

Recently the World Health Organization declared H1N1 flu as the first pandemic of the 21^st century. The ‘daily dose’ of suspected cases of swine flu being reported in Bangalore makes the situation even more alarming. As if this was not enough some city hospitals have been served closure notices by Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) for failing to set up effluent treatment plants (ETPs) in their premises!

Remember city’s health woes have deeper roots. Swine flu is only a latest entry! Chikungunya has spread its wings to many corners of the city already. There are reports that anybody who goes to a clinic with fever is said to be affected by Chikungunya. Doctors love a sick city.

The questions remain. Don’t the poor deserve better facilities in the hospitals that are supposed to cater to them? How can the ailing healthcare fight swine flu?

Is creation of additional wards for BBMP more important than providing decent healthcare? When will the government wake up to address these pressing issues?

Wealthy God and poor gods!

It has been reported that Mr Janardhan Reddy (now on JR) celebrated his birthday by donating a diamond-studded gold crown estimated to be worth Rs 450 million (45 crore) to the famous Lord Venkateshwara temple at Tirupati. What a noble gesture from a man who is said to be a great devotee of Lord Veknkateshwara and a frequent visitor to the famous place. Apart from being a minister in Karnataka, his mining operations have taken him closer to the neighboring Andhra Pradesh.

See this against the background of the now publicly known cold war between the Chief Minister of Karnataka and the ‘rich and powerful’ Bellary Reddy brothers. The dissatisfaction leading to ‘distancing’ in one state (Karnataka) and the ‘closeness’ driven donation taking place in another state (Andhra Pradesh)! Another factor is the Ministry of Environments and Forestry (MoEF) is conducting a survey of mining lease areas. Would this mean an end of ‘win-win’ situation for these two states? Yes, only Lord Venkateshwara would know it.

Speculations aside, we are bothered by some basic questions. What is the income tax department doing? Are JR and his Reddy brothers paying income tax at all? What are the sources of their income and more particularly what is the source of JR’s 45 crore gift to Lord Venkateshwara in Tirupathi? Would the Lokayukta ever get into the ‘reddy fortress’ in Bellary to expose their ill-gotten assets?

It is one thing to see the rich increasing in number and quite another to see the increase in the riches of a few. Indeed, Lord Vekateshwara would have been happier to see many gods (Human beings) becoming richer than to see the riches of just one God (Lord Venkateshwara)! How can a rich God be happy in a poor country?

Read this related article by Anand Soondas.

Is India a Flailing State??

India is a land of paradoxes! Poverty amidst plenty, high growth rates Vs poor development indicators, surplus food production Vs high starvation deaths, world famous educational institutions Vs pathetic literacy rates and this list is endless. This paradox is captured by well known economist Joan Robinson who said ‘Whatever you can rightly say about India, the opposite is also true’.

In this interesting article Lant Pritchett introduces a new category to refer to India, namely, ‘flailing state’, by which he means “a nation-state where the head, that is, the elite institutions at the national (and in some states) level remain sound and functional but this head is no longer reliably connected via nerves and sinews to its own limbs”.

He refers to the rampant absenteeism, indifference, incompetence, corruption in police, tax collection, education, health, power and water supply- in nearly every routine service!

What shall we say about the move to increase the number of elite institutions like IIMs, IITs in India? Would this bridge the gap between the head and the limbs or would it lead to further alienation of the limbs from the head?

Socio-capitalism as the Latest Economic Mantra

Gone are the times of extremes, or so it seems! Today, there are not many takers for 'either or' positions specially when it comes to say, ‘science and religion’, ‘state and market’ and ‘capitalism and socialism’. For example, the movie ‘Angels and Demons’ speaks of coexistence between science and religion and states that they are not enemies. Here is an interesting essay on the movie.

Today, with the financial crisis there is an increasing skepticism about the infallibility of the ‘invisible hand’, namely, market economy, read capitalism. With many of the high profile capitalist enterprises claiming bankruptcy, the capitalism is in troubled waters. Interestingly, General Motors becomes 'only' the 99th American company to go under!

In such a scenario its goodbye for any talks on exclusive capitalism or exclusive socialism and welcome to ‘socio-capitalism’ or ‘capito-socialism’. R Jagannathan of DNA says that socio-capitalism is an idea whose time has come. 

What do the fundamentalist groups of capitalists and socialists say? 

Fallacies About Voter Turnout

As we know, post elections many theories emerged to explain the voting patterns and voter turnout. But all these theories failed to hold water says Swaminathan S Anklesaria Aiyar in his article on the fallacies about voter turnout.   

Birthday and the Birthday Message....

It is ‘birthday’ time for the ruling party in Karnataka as it completes one year. And we find the government blowing its own trumpet, well almost as a team (though seven ministers were missing)! Though there are contrasting views on the ‘why’ of this celebration, the more important question is about the cost of this celebration. Does the government really care for the taxpayers’ money? Would the citizens ever come to know the total expenditure incurred on this celebration?

The Chief Minister and his team should know that the people will judge a government not on the basis of its promises but on the basis of its performance. The BJP government headed by Mr B S Yeddyurappa did make a lot of promises. But an assessment of its performance reveals many unpleasant things like church attacks, pub attack and sporadic incidents of communal violence and these are not the kind things any government will be proud of.

Even if we excuse the government for all its failures of one year, however grave the mistake by the government and however difficult to excuse the government for it, the uncertainty remains whether such unpleasant events would recur or would such unpleasant events disappear and pave the way for a better and peaceful Karnataka? Would the remaining years too turn out to be equally futile? Would the government, in future too, be found celebrating its achievements which weren’t there?

Mr Chief Minister you have said that the people have given you a birthday gift in the form of 19 loksabha seats. What is going to be your gift to the people of Karnataka for the next four years? Remember not to spend the taxpayers’ money for redundant and needless practices like ‘anniversary celebrations’, ‘gangajal distribution’ or ‘pilgrimage subsidy’ but for nobler causes like healthcare, education, poverty alleviation and employment generation.

Celebrating the Release of the Prisoner of Conscience…

When Dr Binayak Sen was still in prison, noted film maker Anand Patwardhan wrote an article describing Dr Binayak Sen as the prisoner of conscience. Given the circumstances that led to his arrest it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him so. It has been a week since his release and all over the world the human rights activists are elated that the two year old ordeal has ended for this man who worked for no hidden agenda other than the agenda of peace.

This country is not unknown for illegal arrests of citizens who dared to speak against the state. As admitted by Dr Sen himself there are hundreds of such heroic souls languishing in the corners of jails throughout the world. The gross human rights violations, perpetrated by the State, would have gone unnoticed but for these noble men and women who risked their lives to expose such abuses.

Dr Sen has repeatedly said that he is not a Naxal sympathizer. In an interview which he gave while he was still in jail, he makes it clear that he doesn’t endorse violence whether by the State or the Naxals. Again in another interview which he gave after his release from the jail, he says that he was targeted by the State government primarily for criticizing the Salwa Judum and encounter deaths. A clear mismatch between the crime and punishment!

Indeed Dr Sen’s release is a victory to the organizations that speak out against the human rights violations perpetrated by the state but it remains to be seen whether this would put an end to state’s excesses in the name of putting an end to Naxalism!

The Victory March and the Victory Clash!

What a victory for the BJP in Karnataka and what a way to celebrate this victory. Mr Nalin Kumar Kateel, the newly elected MP from Mangalore, says that he would continue to work for the hindutva ideologies.

Mr Nalin Kumar Kateel please clarify to the people of your constituency as to what you mean by the hindutva ideologies. Does it mean more and more attacks on the minorities or would you take this coastal land back to its glorious days of peaceful coexistence of different communities?

Finally the Human Rights Activist Mr Binayak Sen is Released

Development at What and Whose Cost?

Look at this. Barack Obama can say that ‘It's important to listen to what scientists have to say, even when it's inconvenient, especially when it's inconvenient’ but our political leaders in India don’t seem to attach any importance to it. See for example the case of 200 MW Gundia hydel power project in Hassan, Karnataka. Being located in the Western Ghats one expects that the least a government can do is to get a clearance from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry. Unfortunately the Karnataka government is going ahead with the project without listening to either the protesters or the experts from the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.

It is true that the present government harped on development and governance to come to power. Is this the kind of development this State is condemned to?

When will the Chief Minister and the KPCL listen?

For more on the project and the opposition to it click here.

Understanding the 'Intelligent' Voters in Karnataka

Understanding the 'Intelligent' Voters in Karnataka

Publish at Scribd or explore others:

Special Economic Zones- Waves of Resistance

Amartya Sen-Think and Act

Confessions of an Optimist turned Pessimist!

The 15^th Loksabha election results have surprised one and all. The results suggest a clear mandate in favour of the Congress and the UPA. There are many theories which explain this turnaround by the Congress and the UPA.

The 15^th Loksabha elections were mainly fought on issues like security and stability. The voters have made their choice and have elected a government, though a coalition, that would provide them with security and stability. This, in general, is the trend in most parts of the country.

Coming down to Karnataka, however, the situation is different. The state has witnessed frequent incidents of communal disturbances particularly after the BJP was voted to power. This being the situation, there was a high likelihood of BJP biting the dust for its role, either tacit or explicit, in supporting its various outfits that sought to vitiate the communal harmony in the state.

Unfortunately, the results don’t reflect a rejection of the so called ‘communal’ party. Again, there are many theories to explain this trend. As per one theory, it is not that the majority of people voted for BJP but the majority of people voted for different secular parties/candidates and it was this split of secular votes that brought victory to the BJP.

While it may be true that in some constituencies (Bangalore and Mangalore) the floating population would have contributed to this swing in favour of BJP, but what about other constituencies where there is less likelihood of the presence of outside population (Chikkodi and Chitradurga)?

The theories apart, what is in store for the people of Karnataka now that 19 seats have gone the saffron way? Would some districts like Mangalore, Udupi, Chikmaglore, Davanagere and Hubli have a repeat of communal incidents? Would the BJP resort to hard core hindutva strategies and further malign the secular atmosphere in this state?

If instead, the BJP reinvents itself and works more aggressively on its promises of better governance and inclusive development???

Would this be a reality? When? 

Would I be a pessimist turned optimist? When?

Tatas.....Please save the turtles....