Assange doesn't need a mental asylum

Mayawati’s reaction to WikiLeaks revelations has been more than humorous and hilarious - personally, it invites pity. Pity to the world she lives and thinks in. In fact, her reaction has been worse than the exposure itself.

First - the credibility of facts. I don’t doubt the credibility of the facts presented by Julian Assange. And I have no reason to doubt so. WikiLeaks does nothing except revealing those secrets that government and big people want to protect. It is neither inclined to any government nor cares about elections in the state. Mayawati needs to understand that state elections in UP are of no interest to Assange. And he has got no plot here. His endeavors to publish truth have always been met with displeasure from the government. But no government or individual has given such a reaction to the facts exposed. If Mayawati thinks that people like Mulayam, Advani, Rahul Gandhi has got something to leverage in WikiLeaks, she is so mistaken. Assange has got no allies.

Mayawati has betrayed her own dalits by showing off ostentatious amount of money. Her love for money goes beyond saying. Money garlands, branded-sandals, and a private jet planes to bring them all show her ‘penchant for corruption’ and 'an authoritarian streak’.

These cables do more than just expose Mayawati’s secrets. They expose the true image of a politician in India. Every politician, MP, MLA in India have the habit of using the money, which is obtained through 100% illegal means either to show off or hoard the money away. Mayawati’s own cabinet secretary revealing that she has a love for corruption is a little unnerving expose. Mayawati’s efforts to be a public figure for Dalit should be met with the strength and resolve to live like present day Dalits. There is no say in corruption, we have Anna Hazare and billion other people fighting that.

Assange has revealed nothing new by exposing the corruption and show off part, in fact he, in no way, deserves a mental asylum but the it is the people who 'fly jets for buying sandals’ who need an asylum. What new comes out of this episode is the way leaders think their reactions and false allegations can convince people and the media. It does nothing but invites humor and contempt towards them. I have only one message for Mayawati that my mom always tells me - Grow Up.

The Solution to Corruption: Not Lokpal

The Lokpal Bill has become the worst nightmare for Congress. The arrest of Anna Hazare before he could start the fast highlights the fact. The arrest was, no doubt, undemocratic and unconstitutional. Freedom of Speech is the fundamental right of every citizen, and its violation is the highest disregard of the principles of democracy. This act shows the half-thought panic reaction given by the Congress. The arrest has further intensified the support for Anna’s team and it looks like Congress has stabbed its own back.

Just a day after the Independence Day, a Gandhian arrested for protesting peacefully has brought the the images of Gandhi being arrested by the British Government in the minds of people. The movement has gained momentum since people see Congress as the cruel British Government and Anna as the new Gandhi. The show has cropped up a lot of patriotism in people and they have taken it to the streets. The arrest is the biggest blunder made by the Congress.

Of course, we do require a law to deal with corrupt people, and not just some, but all corrupt people, from a clerk in local municipal corporation to the Prime Minister. Yes, I agree that PM should be brought under the ambit of Lokpal Bill. But the demands of Anna Team to bring the Judiciary under the Lokpal is a little too much. Judiciary is above everything, (at least on paper it is), and that should be the way it is. If we go by the way of team Anna, Lokpal will be an all-power body which answers to no one, and such power can be exploited at will.

But my question is that are these efforts justified? I have always been a supporter of “Prevention is better than cure”. Why do we have such policies that breed corruption? Why do we require the signatures of government officials at every stage? See, for example, the Income Tax Department. Everything is computerized. Even tax returns can be e-filed now. With technology and precision everywhere, there is no place for corruption. Similarly, we should aim at altering those policies, those loop holes which give rise to corruption. It is high time we change the system and policies that are there since the British Government.

Consider the scenario: A computer program has clear guidelines for the companies eligibility for allocating 2G spectrum, and after submitting the e-documents, the computer decides the eligibility and either accepts or rejects the company’s offer to participate in the bidding. At a particular time, bidding starts online, and after few rounds of bidding, the licences are awarded online. Where is the question of corruption here? The thing that gives rise to corruption are the policies, the manual work that involves people in between. If college grads can make a virtual bidding system with full security, I think the government can do it too.

Effective way of tackling some menace is not by making new laws, but to find the root of the problem and repair it from there. We need to root out corruption, not check it. Change the policies that breed corruption, not try to control it. That is my mantra.

Trembling Global Economy

The recent stock market crashes in two most developing countries of the world – India and China, is just the icing on the cake. There have been a lot of developments in the past year, which threaten the existence of a peaceful, semi-utopian world. The decision by Democrats to raise the US debt ceiling at the last minute to prevent a default was an adrenaline shot to the dying economy. Fiscal stimulus and debt revisions are drug addictions for the economy on the whole, with no long-term positive effects.

This situation has just augmented the fears of a double-dip recession in the minds of many analysts and policymakers. Already, Europe is reeling under its own debt crisis with Greece, Ireland and Portugal in knee-deep waters. Austerity measures and high tax rates have paralysed the day-to-day life of citizens in these countries. Analysts expect that there is as much as 90% chance for Greece to default on payments, which would destabilise the Euro rate and in-turn cause global economy to go haywire.

Another economy which is recovering from a stygian abyss is Japan – the country with the worst stroke of luck. Although the devastation in Japan in 1945 catapulted it to its post-WWII growth story, it was a time when the US and Soviet Union were there to the guide the world. But in current scenario, it seems that the story is not quite the same. With no developed countries ready to take on the shock, we are through a rough patch.

The thing that troubles more than Europe and Japan is the US, with its dominance in the world economy. GDP of the US in 2010 was $14.7 trillion, approximately a quarter of the normal global GDP. US remains the largest manufacturer and service provider to the world. Any dent on the US economy would send shockwaves all over the world. As Russian President Putin has put it “The US spends beyond its means and lives like a parasite off the global economy”. Frustration with the US is self-explanatory for its behemoth share and contribution to the globe.

The reason for following all this so diligently is because this situation can affect me too, and since I am joining a “US based IT firm” in India this month end, I can’t stop thinking how this will affect my career path. Well for starters, Indian IT companies gain roughly 70% of its revenues from the US and the rest from Europe and other developing countries. Any spending cuts and austerity measures in the US will directly lead to lower spending and negotiations by the clients. Lower budgets for projects will lead to completion of the project pipeline and revenue crisis in the companies here. The natural option is layoffs, salary cuts and less hiring, which we have already experienced in the 2008 recession due to the collapse of Lehmann Brothers.

The domestic problems of high inflation and high interest rates have slowed industrial and manufacturing economy in India, and agriculture is bound to remain dependent on season. In such a scenario, the 8% growth figure is a distant dream for Indian economy. Coupled with a global shock, the implications will leave a scar in careers of many young like me.

I am no expert in economics; this is my naive analysis from TOI and Wikipedia. But one thing I can say for sure is that it’s time to develop the domestic economy. World Trade will always carry a risk factor .A decade has gone by and it’s not the Y2K era any more. It is time our generation builds up India to a level where we stand resilient in the trembling global economy.

The Silent Issue

It’s been more than a year since I have “blogged”. Well, I accept I am not an active blogger, but this issue specifically compels me to pen down my thoughts and vent out my frustration in Times New Roman.

Since January this year, all I have been hearing is Corruption, Anna Hazare, Lokpal. It seems like Rs. 1.76 Lakh Crore is giving jeepers to the Indian civil society and the activists. I think the attempt by Kapil Sibal and PM Manmohan Singh to expose the futility of this attempt is by rolling out a statement like “The Government exchequer has not lost anything by the 2G scam spectrum”. That statement seems a little far-fetched, but the fact, in my opinion, remains is that magnitude of efforts going in the case is futile. Especially when we know that the money is not coming back. Punishing the guilty for such heinous crimes is one thing, and politicising this issue on a national platform is another. Of course when the issue comes to coalition politics, there are bound to loop holes.

Of course, there is the media then. How else would we come to know what’s happening in that big
large red house in Delhi? TOI had a page dedicated to Lokpal for 2 weeks when Anna had gone on fast for the first time. Thousands joined, millions voted and SMSed (even gave a miss call). We were the innocent sheep for the media. I don’t blame them though, after all, it’s a business. They need to have something to feed us and in-turn feed their employees.

But, there is another pressing issue, silently creeping into our daily lives while we remain focused on Rs. 1.76 Lakh Crore. The issue is – rising costs. I have purposefully not termed the word as “inflation” because then I would find people saying that is in the limelight. When I entered my college 4 years ago, the Orientation Programme mentioned that Engineering students in Nirma get an average salary Rs. 3.0L p.a via campus placements. 4 years have passed, I landed with the same amount, and with me another 400 (approx). But in these 4 years, I have noticed the average price of Regular Gujarati Thali going up from Rs. 35 to 50, a price rise of 43%, Nirma fees going up from Rs. 27500 per semester to Rs. 73000 per semester, a price rise of 165%, average price of a 2-BHK in Ahmedabad (and many other cities) going up from Rs. 16L to Rs. 40L, a price rise of 150%. And the list goes on.

We have a 7.5% GDP growth on average for the last 3-4 years then why isn’t my salary increasing? Why does the cost always rise? The answer lies here: the GDP growth occurring in India is due to the top 0.2% of people, the industrialists, Tata, Ambanis, Adanis etc. Their revenue is increasing, but is that getting reflected on the salary? The salary hike is 10-12% once in 3 years, which is not enough to battle the rising costs.

The point I am trying to make is – I would be happy to rally myself for a fast that focuses on this issue, and with me may be another millions, because corruption, on an average, pinches lesser than the rising costs. The youth today needs to open its eyes to the reality today – is the GDP growth an overall one or a per capita one? It is true that India has the second highest growth rate in the world, but in terms of per capita, we lag far behind.

The power of democracy lies in the hands of people, and the primary function of the elected representatives should be prosperity of the nation. If these two facts are accepted true, well then, the government, the civil society, the media and the corporate honchos need to focus on this issue as well. That is all I have to say.