Khap panchayats seek legal claws – India – NEWS – The Times of India

A over-regulating state is also ineffective state ('Prohibitions' cartoon and ©by Meera Sapra)

Irked at being equated with the Taliban and kangaroo courts, khap panchayats in Haryana are now determined to get some legal sanction.

Soon, they will draw up a set of recommendations for making “suitable” amendments to the Hindu Marriage Act (1955) at the state level so that their rulings become valid under law.

Khaps are traditional area-based community organizations whose rulings have no legal sanction. In keeping with tradition, khap panchayats oppose marriages within the same ‘gotra’ (lineage) and are known to have meted out harsh punishments to “erring” young couples. (via Khap panchayats seek legal claws – India – NEWS – The Times of India).

‘Indian’ NGOs

A NGO /activist publication recently ran an article on Haryana’s khaps – equating the khaps to the Taliban. This was the famous ‘Tehelka’, whose main aim in life is to show how ‘backward’, ‘ignorant’, ‘uncivilized’ the India(ns) are.

Of course, being ‘English speaking ‘activistas’ of the ‘civil society’, nobody can doubt their intentions or message or their ‘intelleigence. Except some like 2ndlook – whose ‘provincial’ mind’ (aka मोटी, देसी और मंद बुद्धि) cannot reconcile the ‘de-regulation’ that these NGOs want and greater regulation that they propose – as they exhale and inhale.

Of course, since they are ‘educated’. ‘modern activistas’ without any axe to grind, they must be right. What is the data that they have? This story was linked to me by an 2ndlook reader (novaaristotle) and is worth reading for an excellent hatchet job.

In conversations with villagers over weeks and months, it became clear that murders decreed by Khap panchayats were common. However, in most cases, a twisted notion of tradition and the fear of social boycott ensure the murders are never reported to the police or the media. The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) doesn’t classify or record honour killings and hence has no statistics on them. The lack of figures on murders ordered by Khap panchayats or ‘honour killings’ hinders research and legislation that might address the issue.

Maybe, they should look take a 2ndlook at Indian society – from a law and order point of view.

All quiet on the Indian front …

In more than 1000 Indic books, claiming to record more than 10,000 years of history, there is no instance of any dispute reaching the King. The longest ancient epic in the world, The Mahabharata has no incident where a private dispute reached Yudhisthir (though a mongoose could lecture the King about sacrifices and yagnas). There was never any case of private dispute, recorded in the Ramayana, that reached Ramachandra (though a dhobi could ‘inform’ the king about bazaar talk regarding the Queen Sita). Even a poor Brahman, Kautsa, could reach King Raghu for help in the disbursal of guru-dakshina गुरु-दक्षिणा.

Is it that Indians were ‘saints’ and did not have private disputes? Were they so civilized that they could solve all disputes by talking to each other? Is it that Indian kings were not bothered about delivery of justice!

It gets worse! No prisons …

Modern econometric modelling has an interesting perspective on Indian economy where research shows that for much of the last 1000 years, India has been a significant economic power till the 1900.

China and India, this analysis estimates, for the last 1000 years, accounted for 50% of the world economy. Statistical analyses showed India with a world trade share of 25% for much of the 500 years during 1400-1900. With this prosperity, the most interesting (historical) aspect of the criminal management story is the absence of any surviving mass jails in India prior to colonial India.

Without prisons, just how did pre-colonial India, one of the largest (and most prosperous) populations of the world, deal with crime and criminals?

But then crime rate in India must be really high …

Cut to modern India. With such an inheritance, India has the lowest prison population in the world. How can India have such a low prison population, with a poor police-to-population ratio and a crime rate which is not above the average – in spite of a large civilian gun population.

All the 5 indices (below) create a bias for a lawless Indian society and rampant crime. With these five indices, namely: -

1. Police to population ratio (‘increase police force’)
2. Prison population (‘put more criminals behind bars’)
3. Capital punishment (‘kill enough criminals to instill fear’)
4. Poverty (‘it is poverty which the root of all crime’)
5. Gun ownership (‘more guns means more crime’)

against a stable social system, how does current day India manage low-to-average crime rates. More than 2000 years ago, Megasthenes a Greek traveller to India wrote,

Theft is of very rare occurrence. Megasthenes says that those who were in the camp of Sandrakottos, wherein lay 400,000 men, found that the thefts reported on any one day did not exceed the value of two hundred drachmae, and this among a people who have no written laws

Historically, trade in India is governed by शुभ लाभ ‘shubh labh’ – and hence Indians have not been major players in drugs proliferation (unlike Japan, the West in which traded Opium in Korea and China) or in slave trade.

In modern times, India is not a big player in spamming or in software virus – though a power in computing industry. In August 2008, a hoax story alleged that an Indian hacker, had broken into a credit card database, and sold it to the European underworld. Some ‘experts’ feared that this would spark of a crime wave across Europe.

The Indic model of justice, crime and law

Evidence of a different Indic system goes far back in history – to Lipit Ishtar, Hittite laws, Hammurabi et al. As far back as 4000 years back in history. Indian kings did not deliver justice. It was done at the local level by panchayats पंचायत. Indian justice systems did not rely on imprisonment or executions or the police to control crime!

The answer – the world’s most stable marriage system and the extended family-social structures took care of the wayward. The khaps may have gone overboard in some cases (based on anecdotal evidence) – but the real tehelka is that khaps is the way forward – and not greater Government regulation.

RBI to buy 200 tonnes of IMF gold

RBI’s decision to shore up its gold reserves needs to be seen in the context of other central banks across the globe increasing their gold reserves. Among them are the central banks of China, Russia and a few countries in the European Union.

In the last one year, China has increased its gold holdings, by weight, by 75.69%, Russia by 18.78%, the Philippines by 18.50% and Mexico by 108.91%.

Compared with this, India’s central bank did not add anything to its gold reserves in the last one year, according to Bloomberg data. (via RBI to buy 200 tonnes of IMF gold – Home – livemint.com).

Two years ago …

2ndlook had estimated that the Chinese could possibly (and they have) increase their monetary gold reserves. On April 24th, 2009, Bloomberg reported that China had increased

its (gold) reserves by 454 tons to 1,054 tons through domestic purchases and refining scrap metal, Hu Xiaolian, head of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said in an interview with the Xinhua News Agency today. China, the world’s biggest gold producer, has increased its holdings before, Hu said in the interview carried on the administration Web Site. They rose from 394 tons to 500 tons in 2001 and to 600 tons in 2003. The U.S. has the world’s biggest gold holdings at 8,134 tons, followed by Germany with 3,413 tons, World Gold Council data show. France has 2,487 tons and Italy 2,452 tons, while the IMF has 3,217 tons, according to the council.

Another report, from Market Watch, a WSJ web publication added,

The increase makes China the world’s fifth-largest holder of gold, just ahead of Switzerland, and among the six nations plus the International Monetary Fund that have reserves of more than 1,000 metric tons. Although Hu did not elaborate on where China had sourced the additional bullion, her comments were interpreted as meaning they came from domestic sources and may included refining of scrap metal. Traders also say the gold was accumulated systematically over a number of years. Last year China ranked as the world’s largest gold producer with 12.2% of world output, equivalent to 288 metric tons. The U.S. ranked second with a 9.9% share, or 234 metric tons.

What are the future plans of the Chinese? A report quotes an analyst

China should increase its gold reserve from 600 tons to about 2,500 tons in a short term and to 3,000 tons in a long term to cope with the versatile exchange rate risks, said Teng Tai, an economist of China Galaxy Securities Company.

Exactly …

This really does not mean much – except that it may keep gold prices on boil. Whether a currency is backed by 5% or a 10% gold reserve makes no material difference, especially in this era of rampant use of (not just by the US of A) “a technology, called a printing press” as an economic tool. For long term economic stability, gold needs to be in the hands of individuals – and not Governments.

Why India

Since China is a significant gold producer by itself, it may not get a shot at buying IMF gold. India has negligible domestic gold production -and was possibly therefore given preference by the IMF. Of course, preference may have been given to RBI’s purchase, given its ‘responsible’ and ‘mature’ behaviour during the current Great Recession.

What does RBI’s gold purchase mean

RBI’s gold purchase means two things.

The Indian Government which has had a rather low percentage of gold holdings as their currency reserves will now bolster these reserves. Even after this purchase, Indian official reserves, will only be the ninth largest in the world in absolute terms.

On average, countries hold about 12.6% of their reserves in gold, up from 9.9% a year ago. Some of this represents an increase in gold holdings, but another driver of the increased proportion is the rise in the value of gold. (from India propels gold to new high.)

The overhanging threat of open market sales by the IMF, speculated by many and discounted by 2ndlook, now stands neutralized. This will be a kicker to gold prices in the short term.

The ideal thing …

Sell gold to individuals. Governments should not have such large holdings of gold. Gold in the hands of Governments is the prime cause of war. Gold holding should be widely dispersed, as widely as possible, amongst individuals – like the Indian gold possession model. No national government, in the new financial architecture should be allowed to have more than 250 tons of gold – to progressively reduce to 50 tons.

In search of post-racial fiction

The Help has its heart in the right place, and its “White” imagining of the Black women’s voice springs from an authenticity which only a personal experience could have supplied. In a moving afterword, Stockett reveals how she never understood the silent suffering of her own Black maid until long after her death which happened when Stockett was 16.

However, the book must be accused of borrowed characterisation. Consider Aibileen who matches every stereotype one may harbour about Black people, not seeing the irony of her observation when she meets one of the White kids, now grown up, she tended to:

“And how I told him don’t drink coffee or he gone turn colored. He say he still ain’t drunk a cup of coffee and he twenty-one years old. It’s always nice seeing the kids grown up fine.”

This description, and many such, made me uncomfortable, because they play into the mythologised image of the long-suffering Black — the gentle sacrifice, the immense capacity for self-denial. Why are Blacks, unless they drive the plot, so devoid of ill will in novels about racism? How does Aibileen stand being good to the children she raises, knowing fully well that they will grow up to become dyed-in-the-wool racists? (via In search of post-racial fiction).

This observation I like. Elephants in the room! Very similar to the myth of the 'non-violent struggle for Indian independence.' I wonder how much this works.

When tribal women came out and take on the might of the Indian State, one thing you can be sure of! India(ns) does not believe in non-violence - at any cost. There is point beyond which, Indians will not look at the cost and price - but only the value.

Lalgarh proved that!

It's a stink and a powerful one - Latha Jishnu

analysing a set of figures: the number of billionaires per trillion dollars of GDP for the major countries of the world. Heading the list is Russia with 87 billionaires for its $1.3 trillion of GDP. Coming second is India which has 55 billionaires for the $1.1 trillion of GDP that it generates. Why should this be worrying at all? After all, we did have a booming economy in the last few years. But some perspective would help to see this in the global context. Brazil, which is often cited as an example of very high income inequality, has only 18 billionaires despite a greater GDP than India, while Germany, boasting three times India’s GDP and a per capita income that is 40 times India’s, has just about the same number of billionaires.

For Rajan, who headed a committee on financial sector reforms in India, the numbers are alarming: “Too many people have gotten too rich based on their proximity to the government. If Russia is an oligarchy, how long can we resist calling India one?” It is his contention that reforms have created new sources of rents for the establishment, specially from the allocation of scarce national resources. This means that barring a few exceptions most of India’s billionaires have been created through sweet deals in land, mining, coal, oil and gas. (via Latha Jishnu: It's a stink and a powerful one).

You surely know this …

A favorite scam in the Indian mobile phone industry is to activate services that the customer has NOT asked for – and start charging him for it. It then becomes the customer responsibility to discontinue these services. If the customer does not pay the bill, his name gets reported to CIBIL, a credit bureau – which will make it difficult for the customer to access other credit services in future.

If he pays the bill , the telecom has succeeded in the scam. The effort required to discontinue these services, in many cases, is seemingly higher than the charge for these services – about Rs.20-30. (40-50 cents per month). The scam becomes outrageous when you multiply this amount with the number of subscribers – at last count nearly 40 crores (400 million).

The Mobile Recharge Scam

The same scam makes an appearance in mobile recharges. Customers have no way of knowing how and where their money has gone. Hiding behind walls of call centres and IVR machines, telecom companies in India are looting customers.

In the mobile recharge system, an additional victim is the retailer. 2%-4% of pre-paid recharges never reach the consumer. The retailer refunds the money to the customer – and the telecom company in most cases never reimburses the retailer. What is the retailer commission for these recharge services. 2.5%-4%. What are the number of recharges which dont reach the customer – 2%-4%.

Basically the retailer subsidizes the mobile phone companies by providing these services to the telecom customer. A similar story is playing out in credit card businesses, banking and unsecured loans.

Big Business and Big Government

They are both on the same side. Fighting the two Goliath is equally impossible for Desi Ram or Indy Joe. The outrage against these scams is building up – and will damage the faith that the Indian has in Indian business.

A word of advice

They are working hard to lose the trust that the average Indian has for Indian corporates. Stop all these wasteful CSR swill and propaganda – and just get your members to work their businesses cleanly. That itself will be a big enough CSR for Indian industry.

I doubt if India and Indians need or expect more from businesses – BIG or small.

Concentration Of Power

How does one measure concentration of power. Today the most popular methods are the Fortune 500 listing and the Forbes listing. These listings finally demonstrate that half the world’s economic output is controlled by about 25,000 individuals. Add another 25,000 politicians and bureaucrats. We have about 50,000 people managing the lives of 5 billion people. Read this with the faceless corporate entity aspect, hiding behind banks of call centers and telephone operators, it becomes more worrisome.

What is happening in India

Out of the 30 current Sensex stocks, which make up the Indian Benchmark Index, 15 started off as SME (small and medium enterprises) 20-30 years ago. These organizations today are lobbying (successfully) to ensure that other SMEs do not challenge and compete with these large corporations. Indian policy makers, apparently, cannot learn from successes.

And what you think is a right move …

On the other hand, limited liability companies have created a huge debt mountains. What about expanding liability, instead of limited liability. While LLCs can have limited outward liability, they can create unlimited inward liabilities – in the way of debt, bonds, debentures, notes, paper, et al.

These two elements, limited liability and a separate legal entity, have made these Frankensteins different from any previous association of businessmen. The legal structure of corporations allow actual owners to hide behind a legal facade, without liability. These corporations have access to large amounts of fiat currency. Old debts are repaid by taking new debts. Competition is killed by raising entry barriers – which is again done by accessing huge amounts of debt. Some of this borrowings are irredeemable – and called equity.

Limited liability of the shareholders has meant that various stakeholders usually have little or no recourse – when things don’t pan out. Some stakeholders (usually shareholders and management) have access only to an upside, other stake holders, actually, finally take the risk. Such companies resist any attempt at accountability.

It is this ability to evade ethical practices and issues that differentiates these corporations from other business enterprises. From the massacre of millions of Indians during the 1857 War (by the East India Company), the many regime changes that corporations have pushed, the record of these organizations has been far from average.

The largest employer in India is the SME sector

And the BJP does not talk about the SME at all. Just like the Congress is not bothered about them at all. Save the big industry. There is space for big industry and India needs big industry too.

The big moneybags call the shots

In both the Congress and the BJP. So, any belief that any one is any different is all wrong. They are more or less of the same agenda.

Shallow thinking

Both have the same limitation in the thinking – set by the external agenda and vocabulary. The difference is language. Congress swears by India (a Roman name of Bharat) and BJP swears by Hindustan and Hindutva (a Levantine name for Bharat). Both miss out on the Bharati nature of people.

No talk of Third currency

Neither (the Congress or the BJP) has the imagination or the strategic depth to think out of the Western box. They are all trying out the same tired Western cliches of IMF and World Bank reform – which is going nowhere. It is the IMF and World Bank which keep the Third World poor and backward.

Sad.

'IT players failed us in financial inclusion drive'- says the RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has accused IT giants of being indifferent towards the cause of financial inclusion in India. “The scale of business in financial inclusion is so big that we need participation from big IT companies,” said KC Chakrabarty, deputy governor, RBI, speaking on the sidelines of a financial inclusion seminar organised by Skoch, a consultancy firm. He added lack of interest and involvement by big IT companies was making banks’ endeavour of financial inclusion unsuccessful.

According to Mr Chakrabarty, involvement of big IT companies was important to bring down the transaction cost. (via 'IT players failed us in financial inclusion drive' - The Economic Times).

How India missed out …

Due to our well-cultivated tunnel vision about English language (amongst many other things), India missed out on Japanese investments, technology and business. Indian loyalty to English language exceeds the loyalty of the British themselves to their language – and we refuse to see how this affects us.

Reforming Indian education

India urgently needs to put more languages in lingual-education basket – instead of putting all our eggs in the English language basket. We can't do business with the French or Germans, Spanish or the Arabic speaking world. The Chinese and Japanese are out of bounds to us – as are the Swahili and the Bantu.

The Indian language basket also calls for diversification. India needs to learn more foreign languages. But with our bankruptcy of ideas on restructuring Indian education system or the vested interest banging begging bowls in front of the Indian tax payer!

The Indian software 'success'

The great ‘software' success story is actually two countries – US and UK who give between 70%-80% of Indian software business! This is coolie labour! We are missing out on the massive Japanese, French and the Spanish markets because we have not invested in those foreign languages. Same story in Europe also – major opportunities overlooked and ignored. And we have missed out on computing in Indian languages, because we have not invested there either. So, RBI's peeve is right - but the solution is somewhere else.

Is it due to the apparent Indian decision to tie its future to the sinking ship of the Anglo Saxon Bloc?

Will Indian industry engage Bharat?

Indian entrepreneurs are capable and talented — the best in the world — and have emerged from the pains of competition and globalisation with confidence and competence. They are the envy of most countries and are the pride of India. They can also be respected, trusted, and cared for — but, they are not, as of now by government, NGOs and the public.

And, this is sad because Indian corporates have, and are, contributing to social development through affirmative action; skills development; micro-finance programmes; women empowerment; primary education initiatives in rural areas; supporting healthcare; building infrastructure in villages; setting up low-cost housing; reconstructing villages ravaged by natural calamities; planting trees and helping the environment agenda, etc. India is the only country where industry has set up care and treatment centres for HIV/AIDS affected persons (ART Centres) — this is an outstanding example of social action. (via Will Indian industry engage Bharat?- Opinion-The Economic Times).

Mr.Das you surely know this ...

A favorite scam in the Indian mobile phone industry is to activate services that the customer has NOT asked for - and start charging him for it. It then becomes the customer responsibility to discontinue these services. If the customer does not pay the bill, his name gets reported to CIBIL, a credit bureau - which will make it difficult for the customer to access other credit services in future.

If he pays the bill , the teleocm has succeeded inthe scam. The effort required for discontinuing these services is in may cases, is seemingly higher than the charge for these services - about Rs.20-30. (40-50 cents per month). The scam becomes outrageous when you multiply this amount with the number of subscribers - at last count nearly 40 crores (400 million).

The Mobile Recharge Scam

The same scam makes an appearance in mobile recharges. Customers have no way of knowing how and where their money has gone. Hiding behind a walls of call centres and IVR machines, telecom companies in India are looting ciustomers. In the mobile recharge system, an additional victim is the retailer. 2%-4% of pre-paid recharges never reach the consumer. The retailer refunds the money to the customer - and the telecom company in most cases never reimburses the retailer. What is the retailer commission for these recharge services. 2.5%-4%. What are the number of recharges which dont reach the customer - 2%-4%. Basically the retailer subsidizes the mobile phone companies by providing these services to the telecom customer.

A similar story is playing out in credit card businesses, banking and unsecured loans.

Big business and Big Government

They are both on the same side. Fighting the two goliaths is equally impossible for Desi Ram or Indy Joe. The outrage against these scams is building up - and will damage the faith that the Indian has in Indian business.

A word of advice

Stop giving gyaan to the Government. Look at members in your association. They are working hard to lose the trust that the average Indian has for Indian corporates. Stop all these wasteful CSR swill and propaganda - and just get your members to work their businesses cleanly. That itself will be a big enough CSR for Indian industry.

I doubt if India needs more from its businesses - BIG or small.

Team Manmohan crammed with A-listers - The Economic Times

Manmohan Inc’s team would be any multinational corporation’s dream. Resume for resume, its key members are in a league of their own.

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) council of ministers, led by the 78-year-old Cambridge-educated economist, has at least 14 ministers who have graduated from Ivy League universities like Harvard, Wharton, Stanford, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and of course, Oxbridge. There are also Cabinet members who have degrees from US universities. (via Team Manmohan crammed with A-listers- Politics/Nation-News-The Economic Times).

More than 60 years after the departure of the British, Indian media at least seems to adore 'phoren' educated politicians. A few days, another journalist was effusive when Azhagiri took oath of office in 'faultless' English.

Today, the same media finds merit just because these ministers are 'phoren' returned. While Indian Universities have become recruiting grounds and supply centres to the West for trained and qualified manpower, Indian media thinks that only 'phoren' educated and returned are good enough.

English language media in India is still in its colonial haze – and to see such decadent, colonial ideas, 60 years after the British were thrown out, boggles my imagination. To approve of a politician, because he has English-language skills, or their 'phoren' education seems so important to these journalists, who seem to be wagging their 'colonial' tail with such approval - and vigor.

These journalists instead should have been worried that 60 years on, Indian Universities dont seem to be meeting standards. And looking at the (seeming) failure of these Universities.

This (mixed record) of Indian Universities can largely be laid at the doorsteps of the faulty educational policies that Indian Governments have been following. For one, why is the State increasing its role in education. For another, why is the State supporting English language education with thousands of crores of subsidies - while Indian language education languishes.

Fluent Azhagiri puts to rest doubts about English skills - India - The Times of India

As brother Stalin and mother Dayalu Ammal looked on, DMK's M K Azhagiri took oath of office in English. It sounded neither halting nor practised. And with it, the first myth of post-poll bargaining -- of Congress's apprehension over Azhagiri's lack of fluency in English -- lay well and truly busted. (via Fluent Azhagiri puts to rest doubts about English skills - India - The Times of India).

English language media in India is still in its colonial haze - and to see such decadent, colonial ideas, 60 years after the British were thrown out, boggles my imagination. To approve of a politician, because he has English-language skills, is much like the endorsement of Obama because of the colour of his skin!

I don't know which is worse!

Hand-over English education to the private sector

The reason we’ve driven all the way to Neemrana … is the NIIT University that is taking shape in the shadow of the Aravallis here, a 100-acre campus that though still under construction, will, insists Pawar, be ready to welcome its first students — for courses in BTech, MTech and PhDs in computer science and engineering, educational technology, and bioinformatics and biotechnology — in September this year. “We grew from a two-week course,” says Pawar — this was in 1981when NIIT was launched — “to a year-long course in 1989 as a need-based response and franchising model to grow HR practices, innovation and breaking fresh ground.” It rode the IT boom, creating opportunities for skill-sets in, besides IT, banking, finance, insurance and management. “The path to higher education was always clear,” Pawar now nods. (via Breakfast with BS: Rajendra Pawar).

Backdoor privatization

The Vedanta industrial group is setting up a University in Orissa. From a campus at the new Lavassa township, Oxford is going to start offering courses. These and other represent the quiet backdoor ‘privatization’ of Indian higher education.

Hidden subsidies

Large tracts of lands are being acquired by the Government, and handed over for a pittance to the private sector. Soon, we will have competition between State Sector subsidized English education – and private sector subsidized education.

Who will help Indian languages get back on their feet

While Indian language Universities are struggling – for funding, respect, status, support, foreign Universities, using paper money, backed by the Bretton Woods fraud, will impose their ideas, culture, etc in India.

While the English speaking economic bloc is struggling, India is not focussing on the French, Spanish, Japanese, Chinese Blocs which are large, excellent opportunities.

This can be a way out …

This actually is a good way out. Theere is a significant demand for English language education – at least currently. This can be met by the private sector. In the meantime, the misdirected State subsidies can be gainfully used to help get Indian language education back on its feet.

In the not very long run, the state must get out of making uup the minds of its citizens.

US panel on religious freedom to visit India

The ‘2008 Status of Religious Freedom’ report has placed 12 States including China, Pakistan, Myanmar and Saudi Arabia as countries of particular concern.

“Concerning India, the Commission is not releasing its chapter today,” Tala Eid, USCIRF Commissioner told reporters on Friday on the occasion of release of the annual report. Eid is the first Muslim cleric appointed to the USCIRF.

“The Commission is planning to travel to India next month for the first time, which will give us the opportunity to gain perspective on the government’s response to communal violence that occurred in Orissa, Gujarat and elsewhere, as well as the ways in which India, the world’s largest democracy, endeavours to respect and to promote religious freedom,” Eid said. “The Commission looks forward to meeting with senior Indian government officials, representatives of India’s diverse religious communities and members of civil society,” Eid said.

Consequently, the Commission will release the chapter on India during this summer. “If, for any reason, the travel does not occur, we will move ahead and release the chapter,” he said. (via US panel on religious freedom to visit India).

How brazen can you get …

Over a hundred years between 1750-1850, more than 10-20 million Africans were brought as captives – and sold in the US to be used as forced slave labour. Slave markets and trade in slaves was abolished after many revolutions and revolts by the slaves.

For a hundred years after the US Civil War, the African American Americans were discriminated, segregated, disenfranchised, imprisoned – and now the US wants to come to India to examine Indian record against minorities? This is new level of brazenness.

The West with the lowest levels of ethnic diversity, now wants to preach to India – with the highest levels of ethnic and religious diversity!

Any one who wants to come to India – and issue propaganda or ‘factual’ reports should be allowed. That is does not behove a response from India.

But a legislative body? Like the US Congress! They have no business to come to India and ‘inspect’ India! Especially, when it comes from a country with about the worst records in ethnic diversity and tolerance.

Internal migration: Oriyas in Gujarat - The Economic Times

Through correspondents in Orissa they deliver remittances (which constitute as much as half of total earnings) to recipients back home within six to 48 hours, at a much lower effective cost than that the 5% charged by the post office on money orders (which can take two weeks). Bank drafts are much cheaper than money orders, and were indeed the preferred option, until the private operators emerged to obviate the need to open a bank account or lose precious earning time queuing up and doing all the paper work.

With the advent of these private operators the formal sectors’ share of the remittance market has shrunk to 10%. Other informal financial institutions that have proliferated are bishis (chit funds) and “committees” (informal credit unions) to cater to savings and credit needs. (via Internal migration: Oriyas in Gujarat- Comments & Analysis-Opinion-The Economic Times).

Western models and colonial mindset

This is where RBI, the IAS and the rest of the Westernized janata miss out on India. Desperate to 'modernize' and 'progress' on Western models, we miss out on Indian business models which are more cost effective and require less bureaucracy. RBI has (more than the British could) ground the traditional Indian finance sector into obscurity - by blocking access, creating entry and finally procedural barriers.

What India needs are solutions that Indians need for our requirements - and not what some 'vested' interests (read as Western nationals /educated) sahibs (Brown or White), who are more keen to preserve their status and power rather than do their job.

What needs to be done is the end of state support for English language higher education. This precisely what Indian power elites do not want to end, as it prepares them and gives tickets for opportunities in the West.

Why Do Our Economic Models Keep Failing? - The Atlantic Business Channel

why economic models always fail us in crisis. That's a big question, so fortunately the professor has a really great historical analogy to start us off. A group of Swiss soldiers get lost in the Alps and the weather take a bad turn. One soldier realizes he has a map and they follow it until they find a town to take shelter. But when they explain what happened to their commander he realizes that's it's not a map of the Alps: it's of the Pyrenees. (via Why Do Our Economic Models Keep Failing? - The Atlantic Business Channel).

Amazing piece of propaganda!

The entire economic model was about printing money. Helicopter Ben was the first, in his celebrated speech, where he sneeringly (Did I imagine the sneer) openly spell out the US 'printing press' policy - and the aim to helicopter drops US dollar bills. Helicopter Ben was also the first to further pushed the boundaries by refusing to share M3 figures with the world - with a terse anouncement by the Federal Reserve Board. Of course, I must say, Ben was kind enough to to blame Asia for a ‘savings glut’ - which resulted in this global financial crisis.

Alan Greenspan chimed in with tupenny bit with 'the Fed did not cause the housing bubble' statement. Well, Chairman Sir! You didn't do it! Neither did I.

So who did?

All in all, Ben Bernanke, represents a new level of Western brazenness.

Eureka! It works ...

The US and the World economy is suffering from a surfeit of printed money which was channeled into 'supply side' economics. The model worked exactly as it should have!

The Chinese 'worker' and Indian 'coolie' worked his backside off. The American 'consumer' bloated up debt - and bought all the goodies. The debt mountain became just way too-oooo wobbly. It crashed. The Chinese (and Japanese, Indians and the Russians) have been left holding these pieces of paper, called American dollars.

As for you ...

Derek, if possible, be honest. Otherwise, keep quiet. Say nothing. At least, don't add to the cacophony of lies, untruth and cover-up.

Just don't get very clever about this, Derek.

Addu, Chiddu and Manu - Bankrupt all …

"I have told the PM several times that it would be so nice that like in foreign countries (US presidential debate), we should also have a debate. Instead of a BJP public meeting, the Election Commission could organise a meeting (for the debate)," Party's prime ministerial candidate Advani told an election rally. (via Now, Advani asks Sonia Gandhi for a debate- Hindustan Times).

All good ideas are foreign ideas ...

Advani is enamored with the idea of having debates - "like in foreign countries." I mean how much more juvenile can Advani get? And the Congress reaction - no better! "In parliamentary democracy such debates do not take place. It is only in the Presidential system..." a very superior sounding Congress Party spokesman Anand Sharma informed reporters in New Delhi.

Same logic, same ideological bankruptcy!

Just because the US has live debates, does it make the idea more attractive, Mr.Advani? If the UK does not have debates, does it disqualify the idea, Sir Anand Sharma?

The big moneybags call the shots

In both the Congress and the BJP. So, any belief that either one is any different, is all wrong. They are more or less - of the same bankrupt ideas and agenda.

Shallow thinking

Both have the same limitation in the thinking - set by external agenda and vocabulary. The difference is language. Congress swears by India (a Roman name of Bharata-ah) and BJP swears by Hindustan and Hindutva (a Levantine name for Bharata-ah). Both miss out on the Bharati nature of people.

No talk of Third currency

Neither (the Congress or the BJP) has the imagination or the strategic depth to think out of the Western box. They are all trying out the same tired Western cliches of IMF and World Bank reform - which is going nowhere. It is the IMF and World Bank which keep the Third World poor and backward.

And maybe I will vote for Mayawati ...

India's Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Star PM aspirant ...

Sometime back Chiddu came back saying that he wanted to end 5000 years of poverty! Supposedly India’s star finance minister, and a Government headed by an ex-RBI governor, says this! As though that was not enough, he now says, "

“Unless the developed world puts together a well-regulated financial system and revives its financial institutions, the shadow of failure of the western world’s financial system will fall upon all developing countries,” Chidambaram said.

Why will the developed world do anything that will benefit India! It is not their duty, their job - and they are not even capable.

It is your job, Addu, Manu and Chiddu! Get up and get going!

Sad.

Church goes on damage control

The powerful Catholic Bishops Conference of India (CBCI) headquartered in New Delhi and the Archbishop's house in Mumbai are both going ahead with clarifications on the issue.

Cardinal Vithayathil's controversial remarks came at a ceremony recently to mark the publication of his biography, Straight from the Heart, in Kochi. Catholic circles point out that the timing of the news reports, during the Lok Sabha elections, has led to concern among the clergy. Cardinal Vithayathil is president of CBCI. (via Church goes on damage control - India - The Times of India).

The Vatican is a Nation

An Indian Cardinal is well within his rights, as an individual, to advice his followers, on political matters . But the representative body of the foreign country, the Vatican, which administers, the Catholic religion in India, cannot interfere in political matters. How welcome would be political fatwas from the association of holy mosques of Middle East be in Europe, Your Holiness?

The Indian Government allows a foreign Government, like the Vatican, to interfere in the political matters of India? What gives the religious representative of the Holy See, the right to advice Indian Christians, on political matters? Would the Indian Government accept if the Association of Ayatollahs, Muftis and Imams were to issue political fatwas to Indian Muslims …! Would the EU accept Association of Ayatollahs, Muftis and Imams giving political advice to 10 million Muslims in Europe? His Holiness would see crimson …

It is this interference in religious practices of Indians that makes the missionaries suspect, in Indian eyes. Now it is political advice also. What further aggravates the Indian is the apparent disinterest by the Indian Government in such meddling by foreign authorities in the lives of Indians! And then to listen to them teaching us about religious tolerance …?

How can any foreign organization, interfere in temporal matters of India.

In India, we must clearly eliminate all ‘foreign authority’ - which is implicit with religious freedom. The same Pope will of course not allow such a freedom to any foreign religious authority, in any Catholic country - to believers in any other religion. You have only to look at Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the last decade.

The saga continues

And what is the Indian Government doing? Siesta Manubhai …

Indian economic model - apprenticeship vs jobs

The All India average of wages, salaries and pensions for Sate Governments is 32.8% of revenues. Gujarat at 16% is at half the national average. In fact the only state to come close to Gujarat is Sikkim which is at 21.2%.

Now this interesting.

Getting employees in Gujarat is difficult. The average Gujarathi is more interested in self employment - rather than a job. Lifelong employment as an economic model was a colonial introduction.

Now that is a good economic model for rest of India to follow. Traditional jobs in India were more in the nature of apprenticeships rather than the Western concepts of jobs and employment. The Indian apprenticeship model ensured high levels of initiative and innovation - and a disincentive towards slavery. It also made India into a sustainable and low cost economy.

Appears that Gujarat is the only state which now follows this model.

Unwholesome regulations on food

Experts are, therefore, advising caution on importing US regulations wholesale. American systems warrant a closer look not merely because the FDA is set to open an open office in this country but because an agricultural partnership launched during the Bush regime is seeking to replicate American policies here through different forums. One such is the Indo-US Knowledge Initiative on Agriculture (KIA), which has just completed its first three-year phase. Kavitha Kuruganti, convener of the Coalition for a GM-Free India, finds that the KIA is focused not so much on technology transfer as on changes in India’s regulatory regime ... With US multinationals such as Monsanto and Archer Daniels Midland Co on the KIA board, it is only to be expected that the companies will “drive as many changes as possible to suit their business interests”, she claims.

There is a strong body of opinion which says the KIA should be put under parliamentary scrutiny so that a proper assessment can be made of its contribution to Indian agriculture, specially to the small farmer. But this is an issue that could easily turn into an ideological debate and deflect attention from the key concerns on regulation.

One worrying issue is whether revolving doors are opening up here, too. Making a presentation at a recent Delhi briefing of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA) along with its founder Clive James, was C D Mayee, one of India’s top agriculture scientists. Mayee is a director of the ISAAA, which describes itself as a not-for-profit organisation that “delivers the benefits of agricultural biotechnology to resource-poor farmers in developing countries.” However, among the 21 donors to ISAAA are a clutch of biotech seed companies which are seeking to expand their markets. These include Monsanto and Indian companies which come to the GEAC for approvals. Mayee is also co-chair of the regulatory body. Not a few believe there is a patent conflict of interest here. (via Latha Jishnu: Unwholesome regulations on food).

Red flag

Latha Jishnu makes some very valid points - and flags issues that should concern all of us. A number of these issues will fly low, below the radar - and a combination of an outdated bureaucracy plus Big Business lobbying will see most of the agenda finally seeing the light of day!

Media, commentators, academia, analysts are busy with political parties and personalities. The shaping of the national agenda, is ignored - and left to chance and random outcomes.

Cuban deepwater block yields two oil & gas leads

ONGC Videsh (OVL), the foreign investment arm of Oil & Natural Gas Corp (ONGC), has found two significant hydrocarbon leads in a Cuban deepwater exploration block where it has a 30% stake. The leads are likely to result into major hydrocarbon discoveries, people close to the development said.

OVL had acquired 30% participating interest in Spanish oil company Repsol-YPF’s Cuban deep water exploration blocks 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 36 in 2005. The other partner of the blocks, StatoilHydro (erstwhile Norsk Hydro) of Norway holds a 30% interest. Repsol is the operator of the blocks. The acquisition had marked OVL’s foray into Cuba’s oil and gas industry. (via OVL’s Cuban deepwater block yields two oil & gas leads-The Economic Times).

Brazil takes the first step

On October 14, 2008, 2ndlook had proposed a BRICS-Caribbean accord for oil exploration in the Caribbean.

Reeling under the curse of history, Western intervention and poverty, the Caribbean islands have been dealt a bad hand. Third World countries are paying through their nose to the OPEC cartel and for a dollar hegemony. Oil can break this vicious cycle.

“I don’t understand why it took so long to sign this agreement,” said Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who presided over a signing ceremony for the deal with Cuban President Raul Castro.

That makes two of us, Mr.President!

Brazil has also taken the first step. ONGC was already in the game. As is Russia. With India, Brazil and Russia working on Cuban oil exploration, it is a promising first step to a prosperous Caribbean.

Next stop, Haiti?

How the US dismembered Pakistan

The division of Pakistan has unfortunately legitimised the rule and role of two institutions in the politics of Pakistan; its religious extremists and its army and can be seen as a consequence of the US engagement with Pakistan post 9/11.

To understand this situation and the initial US response, we must deconstruct the ‘war on terror’ policy of the US and analyse one of its key components: the engagement of the US with its ally Gen Pervez Musharraf. This engagement was political as it had the effect of demoralising the democratic presence in Pakistan. (via When the US dismembered Pakistan- Opinion-The Economic Times).

Excellent analysis of how the US and the West is creator of the Pakistani Frankenstein!

'Without our mother tongue we lose a lot'

Till you change the mindset of the people where one of us is willing to send children to a Hindi medium school, the stigma attached to the language will continue and there'll be few Hindi readers and writers. I wouldn't say that the future is dark or bright but there is a need to connect with your mother tongue and it will always be there. With time people will wake up to the fact that without our mother tongue we lose a lot. (via 'Without our mother tongue we lose a lot'-Interviews-Opinion-The Times of India).

A rare woman who speaks out against the preference for 'foreign' languages. She makes excellent sense, with some sharp observations (especially about Marwaris and Bengalis) - till she talks about language being a mindset problem.

When the State supports English language education with more than Rs.1 lakh crore, sending children to a Hindi /Bengali /Tamil /Marathi medium school is fool hardy. What happens to that child when the time comes for higher education, imparted exclusively in English.

The answer is to cut off funding for English language education by the Indian tax payer.

Independent of the West - India has the best chance

India is actually very well-positioned for the new post-US consumption world. We are a large economy with very little dependence on exports. Consumption is about 65 per cent of the economy, our demographics suggest it will remain strong. Our banking system is solvent. Capital investment will lead to huge productivity gains. We have good entrepreneurs and as the government share of the economy falls, there are huge growth opportunities in the domestic market. We do not need a growth model change like in China, which has to move away from exports/capital investment and towards consumption as its growth driver.

India is unique in that our fate lies to a large extent in our own hands. There is enough slack in the system that good policy can make a huge difference to productivity and growth. If we deliver economic reform and strong economic policymaking, we can grow rapidly and attract investor attention. We are not as dependent on a US bail-out or recovery as most of Asia. We have a better chance of being able to grow independent of the West than any other country in Asia.

We once again have a chance to really stand out and differentiate ourselves. Will we take this opportunity? (via Akash Prakash: Crunch time).

Like Quicktake and 2ndlook have always been saying, India is uniquely and strongly positioned to make a difference - to India and the World. In that order. What stops us is our Westernized subservient, English speaking elite - and their lack of imagination!

And till such time that that they are not taken care of , they will hobble and retard us! Maybe the British should have taken away these Brown Sahibs! I think we can still do a clearance sale!! We should outsource them away and give these Brown Sahibs away with a dowry!