|| Satyameva Jayate ||

“Maharashtranomics” and Bihar

In Part I of this series a few weeks ago, I had promised to share some data on statewise GDP, taxes and population in India.

I am still working through the various numbers but below is snapshot data* for the five largest states in India (population-wise). Together these states make up almost half of Lok Sabha.

It reveals some interesting facts:

Maharashtra has more than 5-times the GDP of Bihar, mainly driven by its 5x per-capita GDP as compared to Bihar. In terms of number of seats in Lok Sabha though, it has 48 compared to 40 for Bihar.

Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal have similar-sized GDPs (AP is about 14% more GDP than WB) and not much different per-capita GDP.; Both send 42 candidates to the Lok Sabha.

UP’s per capita GDP is twice that of Bihar but it is still only 55% of AP or WB. Compared to Maharashtra, its per capita GDP is barely 37%. It is of course, the state that sends the maximum number of MPs to LokSabha and these numbers make it obvious why Mayawati might actually make it all the way to 7, Race Course Rd (although it will by no means be easy).

More on this in the days to come.

Related Posts:

No longer funny…

Alaskonomics and Bihar - Part I

“Biharnomics” Examined 

* Source: Various, incl. Wikipedia and 12th Finance Commission Report

November 9th, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | Indian Economy, Politics and Governance in India | one comment

W’end Reading: Nandan Nilekani, Narendra Modi & History

Start this weekend by finding out why Nandan Nilekani feels obliged to use his position and ideas ”to make a difference to a country on verge of transformation”.

Continue with Why India needs Narendra Modi….

and end with the “usefulness” of History, courtesy Varnam.

Brief excerpts from all the articles below.

Keep Reading…

November 8th, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | Corruption in India, Current Affairs, History, Politics and Governance in India | 3 comments

Changing India - Step I

Dear Friends, Thanks to all of you for an overwhelming response to my two posts: Who is B Shantanu? and Changing India - One Step at a Time.

I am more hopeful than ever before and absolutely convinced that we are heading towards a transformation of the political landscape in India…It will not  happen overnight…or even in weeks or months…But the fire of “hope” has been lit…and it is spreading slowly but steadily…

Many of you who emailed or called me after these posts asked what should they do, how can they help and what were my next steps. This post is an attempt to answer some of these questions…

.

***  What can you do? How can you begin participating in this noble cause? ***

1. Read and read lots…Unless we are well-informed and aware, we will be hostage to media manipulation, poor arguments and suspect statistics. So please make sure that you set aside time every day to read about the issues that face us (and I dont mean newspaper headlines about murders and rapes) and how would you think about them if you were in power?  By way of reading list, I would recomend the monthly magazine “Pragati” and a collection of blogs on politics and economy (some names that jump to my mind include Offstumped, Acorn, Deeshaa, Indian Economy, Bharat-Rakshak etc; there are many others…this is just a sample list).

2. Discuss. Try and have regular informal discussions amongst your friends and acquaintances on these topics…they could even be at a social occassion…and need not be very structured…The important thing is to get people “thinking” about India’s problems - and how the roots for all these lie in poor leadership, ineffective governance and bad policies…and of course, please do join the various discussions on this blog. For those of you who would like to join in serious policy discussions, I would recommend the Freedom Team’s Google Groups where many policy-related issues are discussed in great depth (You of course don’t have to agree with everything that is expressed).

3. Get involved directly: Please think about joining one or more of the new political groups/parties that have recently been formed. There is more information on them here and here.  Pl. try and use some of the “tools” that we now have to ensure more accountability, such as RTI.  If you are in India, please consider these two excellent initiatives…If you have some more time, pl. consider helping ADR

.

*** How can you help? ***

4. You can help in this by spreading the word…Some of you have already done that…Thank you, in particular to Varnam and Dr Surya…but this work is ongoing …and we cannot afford to be complacent.

5. and finally, If you can help organise meeting(s), seminar(s) and/or fund-raising dinners in your city for me, please let me know by emailing me at jaidharma AT gmail.com The “funds” raised thus will be chanelled towards organising the first-ever meeting of leaders from new political parties, hopefully sometime early in 2009 (pl. see point # 6 here). More on this particular point, later.

I have some more ideas which I will share in the coming days. In the meantime, If you need to talk to me with some specific suggestions or ideas, please email me at jaidharma AT gmail.com and we can set up a skype/ googletalk call…or of course speak on the phone.

Jai Hind, Jai Bharat!

Related Posts:

Fixing the “system” - getting down to the nuts and bolts 

Lets come together to build a *new* and proud India 

Politics & Corruption: Here�s how to fix the “system”

November 6th, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | Corruption in India, Current Affairs, Personal, Politics and Governance in India | no comments

Of Students and Sadhvis…

…aka “The Great Joke that is Indian Media - Part VIII” or…one standard for Sadhvi Pragya and another for Mohammed Shakeel & Zia-ur-Rehman.

On Oct 23, NDTV reported that

The Maharashtra ATS “…claim that they have evidence that Hindu groups were involved in the blast” in Malegaon

Note that although there was only one (single) blast, the headline of the story says: “Police claim to crack Malegaon blasts case” (notice the plural?)

The NDTV report also mentioned that

Evidence of a Hindu group’s involvement was found while tracing the origins of a scooter found in Malegaon.

The Times of India later quoted Jt Commissioner of Police (ATS) saying that

There is no specific organisation to which the three belong…

The ToI report also mentioned:

The Joint Commissioner denied they had found any links between the trio and other right wing groups like Sanatan Sanstha in Maharashtra whose members were accused of carrying out blasts in Navi Mumbai and Thane earlier this year.

To my untrained mind (and speaking as a layman), it reads like Sadhvi Pragya has so far only been accused not convicted…

If you only rely on the English MSM (mainstream media) though, you may have missed that.  Also, I have not seen anyone rising to her defence yet…

Quite a contrast to the students of Jamia who are allegedly involved in the terrorist blasts (as in plural) in Delhi. In a statement issued Sept 22nd, their Vice-Chancellor Mushirul Hasan said:

…the university feels morally bound to defend its students until proven guilty and we will use the legal apparatus for this purpose.

Very good.

Sadly Sadhvi Pragya does not belong to any university and appears to be short on any kind of support.

Also Mushirul Hasan almost got away with accusing the police of lying about the involvement of Jamia students in the Delhi attack:

On Saturday, I informed the minister for human resource development, the secretary and joint secretary of the MHRD and the chairman of the University Grants Commission that Jamia students had no connection with the unfortunate incident.” However, he simultaneously confirms that two of the students picked up by the police on Sunday are on the rolls of the university. [ link ]

…but I have not seen any one accusing the Maharashtra ATS of that (yet).

I would like to end with a quote by Prof Hasan:

“ (the students)…cannot be branded as terrorists until proven guilty — and if they are proven guilty by the court of law, not a tear will be shed by anyone.”

Amen.

P.S.Did anyone notice that the Sadhvi has been cleared of any involvement in the Modasa blast?

…Sabarkantha DSP KK Mysorewala also reached the city to question the Sadhvi in relation with Modasa blast. He gave her clean chit in the case.

“I interrogated the Sadhvi but didn’t find anything that could link her to Modasa blast,” he said.

Related Posts:

“The great joke that is Indian Media” series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, and Part 7

Malegaon, SIMI, “rule in and rule out”… 

and finally, a thought-provoking piece by Sandhya Jain: Karachi, Kansas, Kurukshetra. 

November 2nd, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | Current Affairs, Distortions, Misrepresentation about Hinduism, Hindu Dharma, Human Rights and Legal Issues, Indian Media, Politics and Governance in India, Terrorism in India | 18 comments

“Jaago Re!” and ADR - Two Excellent Initiatives

Last week, I was alerted to two excellent initiatives: Jaago Re! and ADR.

Jaago Re!’s focus is to get India’s one billion voters to register and participate in the electoral process.

Its uniqueness lies in exploiting technology “…to make registering to vote online a possibility. It also serves as a one-stop-shop solution to all your voting needs.”

On top of that, “…it gives you the opportunity to run your own voter registration drive and be a part of the movement to get the entire country registered!”  I whole-heartedly support this initiative and recommend everyone to at least have a look at the website.

I believe Jaago Re! is also partnering with Loksatta in Maharashtra to accelerate voter registration in the state.

ADR or Association for Democratic Reforms was formed almost 9 years ago by a group of academics from IIMs at Bengaluru & Ahmedabad and NID, Ahmedabad. The story of its “birth” is interesting:

It came into being with the filing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Delhi High Court asking for mandatory disclosure of criminal, financial and educational backgrounds of candidates contesting elections to the Parliament and State Legislatures, prior to the polls. The Delhi High Court in 2001 gave a judgment in favour of ADR and the same was challenged by the Government in the Supreme Court. Several political parties also intervened in the matter opposing the Delhi High Court’s judgment.

After a long hearing, the Supreme Court in a land mark judgment upheld the High Court Judgment and directed the Election Commission to issue orders making it mandatory for candidates contesting elections to Parliament and state assemblies to submit affidavits along with their nomination papers giving information about criminal cases pending against them, if any; financial assets of the candidate, his/her spouse and dependents; financial liabilities and educational qualifications of the candidate.

In a bid to dilute the full effect of the judgment, the Government issued an Ordinance amending the Representation of the People’s Act, 1951, partially implementing only the Supreme Court directions. ADR challenged this ordinance and amendment act before the Supreme Court.

In September 2003, the Supreme Court struck down the amendment as unconstitutional and restored its earlier directions. Several State Election Commissions have also passed orders making such declarations mandatory even for Panchayat/local bodies’ elections.

ADR also conducts “Election Watch” activities throughout India, spending considerable time and effort to dig into the backgrounds of political candidates and their antecedents.

Again, I would request everyone to spend some time on their website and think how we can help and work with them.

***

I have an introduction to Prof Trolochan Sastry of IIM-Bangalore, one of the founders of ADR and I hope to speak to him in the next few days.

I do not know Swati and Ramesh Ramanathan of “Janaagraha” (who are behind the Jaago Re! movement) but if any of you know them and are willing to make an introduction, I shall be grateful…otherwise I will “cold call” them in the next few days.

Related Posts:

Politics & Corruption: Here’s how to “fix the system”

What is stopping you from joining active politics? 

Fixing the “system” - getting down to the nuts and bolts 

Lets come together to build a *new* and proud India   

November 2nd, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | Corruption in India, Elections Analysis, Human Rights and Legal Issues, Politics and Governance, Politics and Governance in India | one comment

Changing India - One Step at a Time

Continued from Part I: Who is B Shantanu?

To be very honest, the “next steps” were the hardest part.

We all know how easy it is to theorise and preach…but when it comes to practising what we preach, we tend to get nervous, anxious, unsure…and end up worrying too much.

I passed through these stages…Every day for the last few weeks, I thought about this…How does one actually make it work?

There were some obvious challenges…The big one was the question of survival…

What do I mean by that? Here I would like to reproduce a short extract from Sanjeev Sabhlok’s recent comment on my blog:

“I completely detest anyone who claims to live first for their country. I want nothing to do with such hypocrites. I want everyone to live for themselves first and foremost. That is the surest way they will take India to greatness. Anyone who desires to ‘sacrifice’ his or her self-interest for the wider society is either a hypocrite or a totally irresponsible person, and we want nothing to do with such people.”

Those words echoed what I had felt for years…that one cannot really give up one’s responsibility under the excuse/pretext of serving the nation.

During discussions with some close friends with whom I shared this dilemma, I used to constantly emphasize that our challenge is to do something worthwhile/gainful (that enables us and our families to continue to enjoy a certain standard of living) while also contributing to the improvement of our society and our country (and I don’t mean simply by giving to charity).

I do not want to pretend that I have solved this puzzle.

But, for the moment, I think I have found a way out… Here I have to make a major confession. There is one person – without whose unstinting support and faith in me, all of this would have remained on paper…and only in my head…

That person is my soulmate (and my wife!)…For the last five years, she has given her complete support to my blogging and related activities. If you think blogging comes easy to me, it does not…usually each post involves quite a lot of work to ensure that the content is high quality, readily referenced and something that I can defend (– and of course something that I would not mind my daughter reading – or my parents…)

As I wrote in an earlier post on my blog:

Without her support, this would have been impossible to do…I thank her for sacrificing countless hours while I was busy at the keyboard or doing background research. I also thank her for being patient with me through my “dark periods” and the occasional writer’s block.

To me, her support was crucial…and she did not hesitate for a moment when I mentioned my ideas to her…

So what exactly do I plan to do?

First, I am reducing my hours of “paid employment”. Starting this December, I will be working part-time on two or three different ideas/companies. Most of this work will have to do with innovation, entrepreneurship, venture capital…

It will involve working with start-ups (on a consulting basis), mentoring entrepreneurs, conducting workshops (on business plans, presentation and getting financed) and possibly seminars for entrepreneurs, students in various cities in India.

I will also be taking up public speaking engagements on Entrepreneurship, Innovation, Globalisation and of course Politics and Governance in India as well as abroad.

Second, I am setting aside at least two days a week to do things which I loosely combine under the umbrella of political reform/ political activism. This would essentially involve:

• Working on developing the foundations of a political ideology for tomorrow’s India (at the moment, this is loosely based on the premise of freedom and rooted in India’s “dharmic” ethos and culture; I need not mention that “Dharma” does not mean “Religion” here)
• Creating public awareness on the need for reforming India – beyond contributing to charities, NGOs or doing individual good. It would involve getting more people interested in active politics…it would also involve helping people understand the the fundamentals of politics and governance in India. In parallel, I will be working on creating a large group of policy-experts in various fields (e.g. economics, public health etc) who share a common desire to change and improve India
• Raising funds for what I would like to call the “Hope Summit”  Some of you have heard this idea from me before…I intend to devote more time to actually make this happen
• and finally, working and advising some of the new political formations on a pro-bono basis. I hope to bring to this all my experience as a Board member and advisor to companies and businesses start-ups…In many ways, what we are attempting is very similar to starting a new company with a grand idea to change the world - think two students in a garage, 1998 and Google.

There are many more ideas than what I have listed here…Some of them will go away, others will be refined…some may never see the light of the day…

But one needs to start somewhere…and I see these as tentative first steps…

This will not be enough though…It just cannot be…We are up against a challenge of monumental proportions….A lot more will need to be done…and clearly it will be impossible to achieve any of this without your support..

I would like to hear from you about what else can be done…where else should I be focusing my energies on…Remember, there is nothing like a stupid suggestion…

So please do write in with your thoughts – either via comments to this post – or you can always email me personally (jai.dharma AT gmail.com )

Those of you who know me will guess that in the end, I may actually end up spending quite a lot more than two days a week on all of this….but that would not be bad at all…In the end, this has to be a full-time activity…

Eventually, the objective is to get actively and fully involved in the political process…and I don’t mean all by myself …but with all of you together…

I hope to be in a position within the next five years (and much sooner, if things so well), to be able to devote myself full-time to this activity.

How can you help and what can you do?

You can create awareness, give speeches/lectures/talks and think about the issues I have raised…You can help by creating forums, platforms, forming like-minded groups and talking amongst yourselves…The wider the discussion, the more creative it gets and hopefully even better ideas will emerge from this.

and most importantly…you can help by becoming financially independent (and beyond that, by having enough resources to contribute directly to this cause) - because unless you are financially secure and your family is well looked after, you will not be able to devote time to this.

Between ourselves, I have no doubt that we are significantly better “qualified”, committed and passionate about changing India than many of our “leaders” who claim to represent us.

As Babu Joseph wrote in an earlier comment on this blog:

We have only 2 options:

• Locating patriotic people who are willing to stand for elections on their on with the active support of other like minded people and trying to influence the political process directly and
• Trying to create public opinion in favor of good policies,programs and their implementation by whatever way possible so that politicians and decision makers are kept on track

I hope my efforts and these activities will strengthen and complement each other and I hope I can begin to draw people from my networks and relationships into this initiative. To me, this was actually the final reason for going public. I realized that the time for leveraging the relationships and the network I had was slipping by…If I leave it for too long, these two parts of my life will begin to get in the way of each other and eventually the synergies will begin to diminish…This was what prompted the decision to “come out of the closet”

For too long we have been saying this is someone else’s problem..

For too long we have been trying not to think about it..

For too long have we been finding reasons not to do anything

For too long we have been pretending everything is fine.

It is not.

We need to wake up…

I am throwing down the gauntlet…

Please join me in this effort..

• Contribute
• Support
• Spread the word
• Contribute with your skills
• Contribute with your ideas

If you have read this far, you deserve a special thanks…You have given me hope, courage and strength to carry on..

This is no ordinary struggle.. We are dreaming the impossible…but we have truth on our side.

I am now looking to your support, encouragement and help in this endeavor…It is a mammoth task…but one has to begin somewhere…I have taken the first step today.

Will you join me…in changing India?

Jai Hind, Jai Bharat!

***

P.S. I would like to end this with the remaining part of Sanjeev’s comment:

In brief, I detest those who pretend to ’sacrifice’ themselves for the country. Such people are almost invariably knaves or fools. Who really believes that the Nehru dynasty ’sacrfices’ itself for India? After Nehru who was an honest person, the rest have been knaves who have infected the country badly with the virus of corruption and who partake in illegal activities each day of their life.

Similarly we don’t want rich people who have no idea of the problems faced by the common man to allegedly ’sacrifice’ for us. Such people (e.g. erstwhile aristocrats and ‘Rajas’) are largely fools whom we can do without.

…The point being - by ignoring the financial costs of contesting elections, we have created a monopoly in the parliament for knaves and fools. No sensible or non-corrupt people are to be found (there are still a few, luckily for us). This is not the way to run any society.

***

P.P.S. I am grateful to Varnam for spreading the word.  

Next in the series: Some sensible and some wild ideas. Please read Step One

Related Post

What is stopping you from joining active politics? (and Part II)

Fixing the “system” - getting down to the nuts and bolts 

Lets come together to build a *new* and proud India 

Coming Out of the Closet – Who is B Shantanu? 

October 31st, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | Personal, Politics and Governance in India | 26 comments

Jihadi attack in Assam?

A dozen bombs, at least fifty dead and more than three hundred injured…

The government remains clueless…

“It is very early to make a conclusion but ULFA has a history of triggering serial blasts,” Assam’s Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma told reporters minutes after the explosions.

even as “…ordinary people believe it as an HuJI attack and Congress government was protecting them by bringing ULFA’s name into picture.”

Their view is echoed by Assam Police:

“The needle of suspicion points to jehadi outfits who are behind subversive activities in the state,” IGP (Special Branch) Khagen Sharma said here.

The jehadi elements, including Bangladesh-based HUJI, could be working in groups or individually, the senior police official said the modus operandi pointed to their involvement.

“While investigation will go on, the police have been zeroing in on Islamic fundamentalist forces which of late have been active in the state and the region,” he said.

…Kamrup (Metro) Deputy Commissioner Prateek Hajela also suspected the involvement of HUJI militants [ link ]

All the blasts took place almost simultaneously…which suggests a high degree of sophistication and coordination.

Sad statistic of the day: With 19 bomb blasts over a period of last six years the Ganeshguri point of the Guwahati city is arguably one of the most bombed place of country. [ link ]

A Roll Call of Terror:

Dec ‘05: New Delhi: Four Years, Two Attacks, One Story 

Mar ‘06: Varanasi: Anger, tears and despair 

Jul ‘06: Mumbai: Blasts? What Blasts? ‘Yeh to hota hi rahta hai‘ 

Aug ‘07: Hyderabad: Another day, another blast - “Kuch nayee baat batao yaar” 

May ‘08: Jaipur: Jihadi attack in Jaipur? 

Jul ‘08: Bangalore: Blasts in Bangalore…3 killed already 

Sept ‘08: New Delhi “Dastardly terror blasts” in Delhi

Jul ‘08: Ahmedabad: Attack in Ahmedabad: Time to say NO MORE 

.

Also see Tackling Terrorism: One Step at a Time

October 30th, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | Current Affairs, India & Its Neighbours, LeT, SIMI etc., Politics and Governance in India, Terrorism in India | 29 comments

Coming Out of the Closet – Who is B Shantanu?

*** CAUTION: LONG POST ***

My name is Shantanu Bhagwat. Some of you who are reading this know me…Most of you do not.

I am a partner in a venture capital firm in London.  I have spent more than seven years at this firm…working with some very smart people, investing in a few fascinating ideas and meeting some truly talented people …

Prior to Amadeus, I worked briefly at another great firm…Monitor Co. Some of you may know of Monitor as Michael Porter’s firm.  Others may have heard of Monitor’s blue-chip connections.

And before Monitor, I was part of India’s “charmed circle” - the civil services – as a diplomat in the Indian Foreign Service…During the time that I was in the IFS, were the several years I spent in Japan. That was also where my daughter was born. Japan will always have a special place in my heart.

But this post is not about Japan. It is about India.

Compared to a vast majority of my fellow citizens, I have had a privileged existence – at least for the past many many years…And I was also extremely fortunate to have the opportunities to realise my potential…

Many of our fellow citizens are denied this opportunity. For them, the doors to a better, brighter future are shut…for them, the joy of achievement is something that they may never experience.

For them, each day is a monumental struggle, each moment a study in despair, frustration and hopelessness…

It does not have to be like that.

I belong to a very rich and blessed country…Yet my fellow Indians are destitute and miserable.

Have you ever paused to think why? Have you ever paused to think what can you do about it? Have you ever paused to think how can this be changed?

Until a few years ago, whenever I had thoughts like these, I used to talk to a few friends, make a few phone calls, find something worthwhile that someone was doing and make a charitable contribution…

I could then sleep peacefully at night – believing that I had done my bit for my country…Isn’t charity very uplifting and ennobling?

Gradually it dawned on me that charity will not solve this problem – it cannot. I realised that the roots of our poor development, the suffering of millions, the pain and the despair that the vast majority face everyday were elsewhere.

*** Identifying the roots of the problem ***

It was becoming clearer to me that India’s *fundamental problem* was poor governance and bad policies… and there was only one way to change that…Fortunately that way did not require a bloody revolution.

One of the “blessings” of being an Indian is to belong to a democracy, to a system where change can be brought about by popular will – and does not have to be forced down the barrel of a gun…

But living amidst freedom, amidst a free society, entails responsibilities and duties…somewhere along the way, we – the healthy, educated and fortunate citizens of India - began to take the “fruits” of freedom (free speech, individual liberties, rule of law) for granted and forgot the responsibilities that these entailed…

Responsibility to think about our policies, responsibility to participate in the political process, responsibility to act…

For this, I do not blame the vast majority of our population whose life is a daily struggle for survival and basic dignity…You cannot think of policy on an empty stomach…and you cannot feel patriotic as you walk miles to get a “haandi” of “drinkable” water…

But what about you and me? You and me who are most likely reading this sitting somewhere comfortable, with our stomachs full, with enough bread on the table, enough food in the refrigerator, enough water to have a bath twice a day if you want?

What about you and me who are fortunate but shy away from thinking about the unfortunate?

What about you and me whose stomachs are full but who salve their conscience by donating to charity?

What about you and me whose response to misery has so coarsened that looking away from a beggar is no longer a conscious activity but a reflex action?

What about you and me who only feel patriotic on 15th August and possibly 26th January?

What about us?

Why don’t we think about what is wrong with our policies? our governance?

What can possibly cause starvation deaths in a country that produces enough food for its billion-plus population?

What can possibly cause farmers to attempt suicide and sell their daughters for a few dollars?

How can it be water is actually “sold” in Cherrapunji – which receives the highest rainfall anywehe in the country?

How can it be that we can launch satellites in space but cannot ensure a basic dignity of life to the millions who are our poor?

*** The way forward ***

These questions began to trouble me…and have been haunting me for the past few years.

Alongside, there were other issues…many issues that made me feel angry, helpless, frustrated and dejected…

During the last few months, it felt that this cycle of anger, frustration, despair and deep desire to do something radically different was being repeated ever few days…

Reading the news every morning used to make the stomach turn or cause my blood pressure to rise…Every discussion about India came to be tinged with bitterness, anger and rage…until I stopped discussing “politics” with friends completely.

My only solace was my semi-anonymous blog and a few internet groups where I found kindred souls..

Then something happened…

Almost unconsciously, I felt the change…

I still remember the triggers…The first was probably the shameful perversion of democracy on the floor of the house on 22nd July.  In response to my post on this subject, Sanjeev Sabhlok challenged everyone to either rise and do something about it or shut up.

That shook me to the core….it hurt ..but it probably hurt even more because it was true…

How long can we wail and beat our chests about the rot, the decay in the system? How long can we continue to cry about the despair and the frustration it generates? How long will we contend ourselves with post-dinner discussions and wake up the next morning pretending (or worse, forgetting) that everything was really OK?

The second trigger were the blasts in Bangalore and Ahmedabad…Ironically, I had been to both these cities just a few days before…But strangely it did not feel like I had cheated death…

I tried to remember when was the last time I had felt really close, very close to being scared…

Regular readers of my blog (and friends) noticed the change in me…one even said, they could feel my anger by reading the posts on the blasts.

I was glad that my feelings had found an outlet…but this was not enough…clearly a lot more needed to be done…

Somewhere down the line, sometime in the last few weeks, these feelings turned into something positive – a positive determination to do something…a positive determination to bring about change…a positive determination that we will succeed.

Other events and things happening around me, helped make the decision…I watched with awe and fascination as the Obama campaign changed the paradigm of fund-raising in the US by reaching out at the grassroots… I began to read about interesting experiments that were happening around “crowd-funding”.

I realised that I had to think differently – almost like an entrepreneur - here…what I had was an idea and a grand vision that could change the world…now I needed to make that happen…

I tried to distil down all the years of insight, experience, things I had learnt sitting on the other side of the table.

I began to think how could a group of committed and passionate people break the mould?

How could we change the paradigm of popular politics, of vote-banks, electoral compromises and sub-serving of national interest? How could we take this powerful idea  - an idea of changing India – and actually make it work?

Success in this “venture” may not make any of us super-rich but it will put India on a vastly different growth trajectory…I realised that if we did succeed, we will have a chance to make the 21st century, India’s century and help India reclaim her rightful place of pride in the community of nations…

…and even if we failed, it will not be for want of trying…

But this is not about the risks of failure…it is not about failure at all…This is about determination…a determination to change the way things are…a determination to create opportunities for our fellow citizens…a determination to try and do our best so that millions may live better…

This is about determination to “Change India”…and it is about hope…

Hope that many will support us…Hope that we are not alone…Hope that the time has come…Hope that when the going gets tough, we will not loose heart or courage…Hope that even in darkness, we will be able to carry the light in our souls…

And it is about belief…Belief and faith in ourselves…and the strength of our convictions.

For me, this is a defining moment, there is now no turning back.

.

Next: “Changing India: One Step at a Time”

October 30th, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | Corruption in India, Miscellaneous, Personal, Politics and Governance in India | 26 comments

“The Godfather of Bangalore” - Excerpts

This is a dark story* in many ways befitting tonight’s ”Amavasya” (eve before the new moon).  It comes from Bengaluru which - one believed - had managed to raise itself from the mire of corruption, crime and dirty politics that pervades Bharat.  Unfortunately this story could have come from any big city in India…

But as hopeless as the situation looks to be, we cannot let this dampen our spirits.  As Anil Chawla wrote in a comment on this blog:  “…We have to keep the lamp of faith and hope alive….May we be filled with hope when everyone else despairs…”

.

*** Excerpts from “The Godfather of Bangalore” by Scott Carney ***

It’s a little past midnight, and a lonely parcel of farmland not far from the new international airport in Bangalore, India, is soaking up a gentle rain. At the center of the lot is a house surrounded by a low stone wall. There’s a hole in the roof and a bushel of ginger drying under an awning. Large block letters painted on the wall read: this property belongs to chhabria janwani. Inside, eight men—two armed with shotguns—confer in hushed voices as they peer out the windows. Is it safe for them to go to sleep, or should they stand watch another few hours? A guard wearing a dirty work shirt is the first to notice signs of trouble. In the distance, flashlight beams sweep the roadway. The lights advance, accompanied by a chorus of voices. Then the sound of people scrambling over the wall. One of the guards makes a break for the gate, sprinting toward a police station a mile away. Before the others can do much more than scramble to their feet, 20 attackers brandishing swords and knives emerge from the shadows. Some carry buckets of blue paint. It takes them only a minute to overrun the building. Three guards who stood their ground lie bleeding on the floor. The others surrender.

Firmly in control, the marauders shift gears. They pull out rollers and slather paint over Chhabria Janwani’s claim to the land. By the time a police jeep pulls up, the sign is only a memory. The attackers have achieved their goal. Thanks to the convoluted rules surrounding land ownership, the removal of Janwani’s lettering throws his claim into question. The dispute is no longer just a criminal matter of a gang of outlaws taking over a piece of ground; now it’s a civil issue that will have to be mediated in the courts. This kind of legal battle, with its near-endless appeal process, could easily last 15 years. If Janwani hopes to develop or sell the parcel during that time, he’d be better off just letting his assailants have the property in exchange for a fraction of its value.

Keep Reading…

October 28th, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | Corruption in India, Human Rights and Legal Issues, Indian Economy, Politics and Governance in India | no comments

What’s stopping you from joining active politics? - II

*** UPDATE ***

You can still participate in the poll by clicking on clicking on this link. Thanks

***

A few weeks ago, I requested you to take part in a poll on “What is stopping you from joining active politics?“.

I am very pleased with the level of participation. I got over a 100 responses and also some though-provoking comments e.g. “…Fear that at the end I will be forced to be corrupt for survival sake” and “no inner party democracy in any party…”.  But first, the results…

Poll: What is stopping you from joining active politics? (only one response was allowed)

Inability to raise funds for campaigning: 24%  
Family responsibilities: 20%  
Loss of income: 18%  
Worry about personal safety: 15%  
Fear of not succeeding: 8%  
Risk to personal reputation: 6%  
Not worth it:  5%  
Other: 4%  

The single biggest reason(s) stopping good, thinking, committed people from joining active politics are

• inability to raise funds and
• worries about family responsibilities and loss of income

Sanjay of Freedom Team conducted a similar poll on the FTI website for FTI members. The results from that poll revealed that although members were keen to contest elections, 60% of them cited “lack of funds” as the prime reason of dropping out.

Surprisingly, only 10% gave “family reasons” as a reason for not contesting (I guess this is because most FTI members are senior professionals in various fields and are less worried about potential loss of future earnings).

Interestingly, 20% (as against 8% in my poll) mentioned “pessimism of winning” (fear of not succeeding) as a reason for not considering joining active politics. Does this mean there are more pessimists amongst FTI members  - or are they more realistic?  I will look forward to thoughts and comments from Sanjay, Sanjeev Sabhlok and others on this.

I will add my thoughts and analysis (hopefully) later today…

In the meantime, please share your thoughts, suggestions and ideas on the results…and what would you do to change people’s perceptions re. active politics.

Jai Hind, Jai Bharat!

Related Posts:

What is stopping you from joining active politics? 

Fixing the “system” - getting down to the nuts and bolts 

Lets come together to build a *new* and proud India 

October 26th, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | Corruption in India, Current Affairs, Elections Analysis, Politics and Governance, Politics and Governance in India | 10 comments

Building the Indian Mind - Brick by Brick

I received this email yesterday and could not stop before reading it right through to the end…It is a long read…quite a long read, in fact.  And it is seriously thought-provoking.  Below, excerpts from a speech delivered by Sh. Gurumurthy at IIT Chennai in 2003 which - although five years old - still retains its and relevance and punch.  This is a *must read*.

*** Excerpts from “The Intellectual Scene in Post-Independence India“ by Sh Gurumurthy ***

A critical review of strengths and weaknesses

… Defeat and anger go together. Abuse and defeat go together. So, it is in this norm and with this understanding of what an intellectual debate means, I would like to place before you some of my thoughts today. Some of may find it provocative. I am confident that the audience is competent enough to absorb this and think rather than get into the mood which all of us have got used to in the last 30-40 years abuse.

Background: India before Independence

Let us see the pre-independence background, the intellectual content of India. See the kind of personalities who led the Indian mind Swami Vivekananda, Sri Aurobindo, Gandhiji, Tilak- giants in their own way. Most of them were involved in politics, active politics, day-to-day politics, handling men, walking on the road, addressing meetings, solving problems between their followers. And, meeting the challenges posed by the enemy, the conspiracies hatched against them. They were handling everything, yet, they were maintaining an intellectual supremacy, and a record and an originality which history has recorded.

Let us look at the academic side. Whether it is a P. C. Ray who wrote on Indian Chemistry in 1905 or Sir C. V. Raman who wrote about mridangam, tabala, and violin, and saw the Physics in it (this was in 1913); whether it was R. C. Majumdar or Radhakumud Mukherjee who saw greatness in the Indian Civilization; trying to bring up points, instances, historical evidence to mirror the greatness of India, to the defeated Indian race, they were all building the Indian mind brick by brick. Sri Aurobindo spoke of Sanatana Dharma as the Nationalism of India. He didn”t rank it as a philosophy. He brought it down to the level of emotional consciousness. Swami Vivekananda spoke of spiritual nationalism; it was the same Swami who spoke of Universal brotherhood. For them philosophy was not removed from the ground reality. The nation was at the core of their philosophy. Swami Vivekananda was called the “patriot monk”.

Mahatma Gandhi spoke of Rama Rajya. Bankim Chandra wrote Bande Maataram. The song, the slogans in it, the mantra in it made hundreds of people kiss the gallows smilingly and many others went to jail. It transformed the life of the people; this was the intellectual scene, this was the content…This was the core of India, the soul of the Indian freedom movement.

The symptoms: India immediately after Independence

…Let us look at post Independence India. The persons who led post-Independence India were also trained in the same freedom movement. They went to jail, but they were not rooted in the intellectual content of the Freedom movement!

The first Prime Minister of India, he was in jail for 7 years. He was a great intellectual himself, purely in the sense of his capacity to reason, understand, read, and expound a thought. He told Galbrieth once, “I would be regarded as the last English Prime Minister of India. See the intellectual capability of the man, the enormously competent mind.

But intellectualism doesn”t exist in a vacuum. It has to be rooted in something concrete. Vivekananda”s universal brotherhood was rooted in India”s greatness as a civilization, which proclaimed it. The concept of “Vasudaiva Kutumbakam” cannot exist without a living form, a population which believes in it and believes in itself. You need to have a society, which believes in it.

That is why India could invite the Jews who were butchered, raped, all over the world. In 107 out of 108 countries, this race was butchered. At least they had the courtesy and the gratitude to publish a book, the Israeli govt. published a book that out of 108 countries that we sought refuge, the only civilization, the only country, the only people, the only ideology that gave us refuge was the Indian civilization. They published a book, which most Indians are unaware of.

And we invited the Muslims. The refugee Muslims first landed in Kutch. And they are called the Kutchy Memons even today but not the Memons who bomb Bombay. But the Memons who lived with us.

Keep Reading…

October 26th, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | A Hindu Identity, An Indian Identity, British Rule in India, Hindu Dharma, Identity, Politics and Governance in India, Post Independence History, Sanatana Dharma, Women in Hinduism & India | 7 comments

Where are these missing 30,000?

Courtesy Lokmanch*, the popular Hindi blog, I picked up this worrying bit of information:

1. Between Jan - Jul 2008, almost 30% of Pakistani citizens who travelled to India did not go back after the expiry of their visas
2. The actual number is 9635 people (until July ‘08 alone)
3. In 2007, 7404 Pakistani citizens did not go back on expiry of their visas
4. Of those who arrived in 2006, 7650 overstayed and are not traceable 
5. Of the ones that came in 2005, the number is 7043

…which means that more than 30,000 Pakistani citizens are now officially untraceable in India…and this in the last four years alone.

To make it worse, even if we detect and try to deport them, there is no guarantee that they will be taken back.

P.S. According to this exchange in Parliament, apparently 10 million (yes, you read that right) foreigners from Bangladesh, Pakistan etc are staying illegally in our country…

* For my readers unfamiliar with Hindi, here is a ToI report mentioning these statistics. 

Related Posts:

North-East “burning” 

Bend over backwards… 

An eye-witness account of *militants* crossing into J&K 

.

October 24th, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | Human Rights and Legal Issues, Pakistan related, Politics and Governance in India, Terrorism in India | 4 comments

No longer funny…

A Marathi Manoos’ house is ransacked in Jamshedpur for no other reason except that he belonged to the wrong “state”

A 10-year old boy - almost certainly too young to understand what the fuss is all about - gets killed in Bihar

Four people are killed in violence at Kalyan that erupted after Sh Raj Thackeray’s arrest.

The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation suffers a loss of Rs 30 Lakhs in two days of violence which resulted in  286 of its buses being damaged.

And the last “not funny” bit:

A Sikh group supports Raj’s cause and his “approach” since the “state doesn’t provide suitable enviournment for non-violent struggle”…Oh, by the way, they also express alarm at the “heavy influx” of migrant population into the state and accuse all political parties of “pursuing narrow political ends” [ link ].

Will Sh Thackeray now show genuine leadership and commitment to national interest and call off his mis-guided supporters?

Related Posts:

There is a “राष्ट्र” in “महाराष्ट्र”… 

After Maharashtra, it is the turn of West Bengal 

October 23rd, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | An Indian Identity, Current Affairs, Debates & Discussions, Identity, Politics and Governance in India, Post Independence History | 35 comments

Nanopost of the day…

…in which I get annoyed by Praful Bidwai’s gratuitous reference to “ethnic cleansing” and “communal clashes” while conveniently forgetting Assam where these words have taken on an entirely different meaning…and the scale of human misery has well surpassed the killings and attacks in Orissa, Karnataka etc..

Related Post:

The not so “communal” clashes in Assam 

October 20th, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | Current Affairs, Godhra, Human Rights and Legal Issues, India & Its Neighbours, Politics and Governance in India | 2 comments

Interview with Deepak Mittal, “Jago Party”

I first heard of “Jago Party” a few months ago during some meetings I had in Delhi.  Earlier this month, I finally got around to visiting their website and leaving a comment requesting an interview with their founders/ leaders.

I was impressed by the speed of response…My comment was acknowledged within a day and I got responses to my email questions within a week…Without further ado, below is an email interview with Deepak Mittal, Founder President of ”Jago Party”.

Please also read Interview with Ujjwal Banerjee - Part I and Interview with Geeta Gokhale, BPD - Part I 

*** Interview begins ***

Q. What is your stance towards economic reforms?

A. In a recent (2008) survey done by World Bank in respect of ease of doing business, India stands at the dismal rank of 122 out of 181 countries. There is an urgent need to facilitate private investment in all areas of economy. Besides, several government and public sector enterprises are working as a drag on the economy by remaining financially unviable, inefficient and corrupt. They should be either privatized or run on commercial lines. Number of taxes and tax rates need to be reduced drastically. Government spending in the name of the poor by way of various welfare schemes and subsidy is ridden with massive corruption and inefficiency and hence it must be completely dismantled. This should be replaced by direct transfer of cash to the poor. All these measures have already been included in the manifesto of Jago Party.

Q. What is your position on campaign finance? Corruption in elections/ vote-rigging?

Keep Reading…

October 20th, 2008 Posted by B Shantanu | Corruption in India, Current Affairs, Politics and Governance in India | 12 comments