Deception point: India tests the truth of the 100 day action plan

In its second term the UPA government is faced with bigger challenges than last time. The Congress led alliance has to perform up to its ideology of inclusive social growth. As soon as it came in power, the UPA government announced its 100 days programme, a set of goals for each ministry. Moreover, the real stir was created with PMs letter directing all ministers to step up their work. The 100 day programme, as presented, showed the eagerness of the government to respond to the global economic and security scenario. The government does not want to seem to be doing nothing when the whole world seems to be collapsing. The directives from the high command is echoing through all ministers as they promptly present their 100 days agenda to the press as it is their strategy for the battle ahead. The real issue remains whether the 100 days agenda can bring some sort of solution or is just a gimmick for creating confidence in the common man. In its second term, the government faces the critical challenge of the global economic crisis along with risk of delayed or poor monsoons. Lifting up Asia's third-largest economy from the global slump remains the eye of the storm. India's consolidated fiscal deficit is estimated at 9 percent of gross domestic product for 2009-10, and fresh stimulus measures would mean widening the deficit and higher borrowing. Growth could be as low as 6 percent this year compared with nearly double digits in earlier years. Economists believe the economy may now have bottomed, with a return to vigorous likely towards the end of this year. A stimulus through higher government spending will increase already-heavy borrowing, which is also crowding out private investment needed to expand factory capacities. Delayed monsoons on the other hand have disturbed the growth estimates. Essential food items like pulses and cereals have registered double-digit inflation rates. Normal rainfall in the central regions of the country was the hope for bringing down the prices. However with the delay in monsoon, the nation is left with clouds of uncertainty over the fate of agricultural production and the government has no option but to look up to the sky to find a solution. Amidst such tight fiscal constraints, funds have to be created for the welfare schemes which played a large role in UPAs second time victory. While the government has announced loud its claim for balanced and inclusive growth, regional and social disparities seem to be growing despite of tall claims. While UPA has highlighted new issues in its 100 day agenda, many critical issues have been left aside. The conflict with neighboring countries has not really come up in the agenda, nor has important issues like the problem in Kashmir and North-East. Though the government has big claims of dealing with the issue of terrorism internationally, however at local domestic level, the real issues of those who have suffered its brunt has been ignored. The Kashmiri Diaspora is still waiting for government’s response to their demand of social and political rights in the valley. This ignorance is even more disturbing with two senior leaders from the state holding important ministries. North-East on the other hand, with its small representation is still struggling to get proper attention. 100 days are not enough to deal with the volume of problems faced by the government. However it is a fresh retreat from the system where the term five year plan became synonymous to the meaning that the work will never be done. In the red-tapism torn administration, fast track solutions are always welcome. Short term goals are easier to achieve, but it depends on the scale of the problem as well. For most of the issues taken up by the government, 100 days is not enough to plan the proper framework for its solution. However, it provided a good platform for the government to put forward its work plan before its target aam admi well before the general budgets. Managing the common though is no doubt critical for government while uncertainty prevails from every direction. UPA has always been a good media manager. Perhaps the most efficient strategy on its part was distributing media attention equally on all its programmes. The 100 day agenda has been much in news, mostly for the plans as it is too short a period for any real action. It has however been successful in conveying the message that there is no honeymoon period for the government this time. While the real picture will not be clear till the general budget, a broad figure is already appearing on the course of action to be taken by government. So, is the 100 day agenda a real action plan or a word game to divert attention from the critical issues lying around? Can we expect some real performance in a period as short as 100 days? The questions have almost been answered by officials themselves as they say that the 100 day agenda will prepare the road map for future and never talk about what has actually be done. Let us take it this way, the 100 day agenda calls for focus to the real issues, to prepare planed course of action for future. Despite of all shortcomings it reflects the commitment of the UPA to perform better than last term. The situation is no doubt critical. Many critical fiscal and monetary reforms wait to see the daylight to provide a solution for economic crisis. We face the challenge of cross border terrorism as well as domestic threat from Naxalism. Numerous social and structural reforms also await their turn for ensuring inclusive growth. Climate change presents another challenge as India is the fourth largest carbon emitter. No real solution can be found in 100 days for even one of these problems. However, it can be taken as a time frame for identifying the problems and formulating strategies. With its new style of working the UPA has clearly expressed its eagerness and commitment. Its efficiency is on test for providing solution to perhaps the largest set of problems faced by a government at a single time. Even if these 100 days produce no concrete result, it must provide solid outline to both the problems and the solution.

GenNext on litmus test

They are young and talented. Energetic, dedicated, visionaries and leaders… these adjectives may sound out of a corporate resume, however this is what the young crowd in the 15th Lok Sabha looks like. The LS has a different flavor this time. Unpredictable, surprising, positive and optimistic… the trends reflected in these elections denote an era of change. The speculations have ended and Congress is the largest party. A watershed in the Indian politics, these elections have marked the comeback of the Indian National Congress as the most popular political party. With nearly 80 MPs below 40 years of age, the 15th Lok Sabha reflects the true essence of Indian demography. Congress’ victory has been attributed to the youth power that has sprung a new life in the party. Not just the political pundits but the party members themselves are admitting that the Rahul factor has done it for Congress. While 81 MPs are below 40 years of age, as many as 36 are in there 70s. However the average age of the House has gone up to 53.03 years, the third oldest Lok Sabha so far. While the statistics are confusing, the fact remains the LS has highest number of below 40 MPs ever with majority of them having previous experience of either being in the Rajya Sabha or State Assemblies. Challenging the typical picture of Indian politics, where an MLA had to grey his hairs before coming to the Parliament, the Gen Next MPs are on the fast track. In a country with a broad base age pyramid, the emergence of youth have sprung new life-blood in the political system. With 59 women MPs, this House, to some extent, has also achieved the goal of gender equality which was ignored with the women’s reservation bill. The number reflects that reservation is not the only solution, equal and equitable opportunities can be provided well through means of education and empowerment. The voting trends showed that the common masses voted for individual candidates, crossing party and leadership lines. Choice of candidates was perhaps the most crucial issue for the parties this time. The young blood has been given a chance to prove its capability. It can be said that it’s an entirely new generation of leaders. The question that arises here is that would this youth preference be set as a trend, or is it just a refreshment of the old system where a set of leaders, rather followers were handpicked by the party leadership. Congress alone has over 23 below 40 MPs, mostly chosen by the young Gandhi himself. Well qualified in every sense, they are expected to be on a litmus test before the right time arrives for Gandhi junior to take the lead. Despite of strong speculations, Rahul himself showed no eagerness to take a Cabinet post. The Core functionary body is in the hands of age and experience. So, is it really the uprising of young force or just second generation continuation of family tradition? Most of the below 40 MPs belong to influential political families. Is it democratic watershed, or seeping in of dynastic rule in democracy? The questions may seem hard to answer and unimportant at the time as the answer depends on the performance these youngsters give on the floor of the House and outside as well. However, these young, educated and clean image politicians are any day better suited for the House chair than the tainted ones (though this Lok Sabha has higher number of tainted ministers than previous one). A developing economy, India has the uprising, educated, urban class as well as backward and downtrodden economically and socially backward population both in its cities and villages. The last few decades saw coming up of the politics of cast, religion and regionalism, disguised in socialist agenda. The backward masses were made to realize there exploitation, only to be exploited again by the same leaders who rose from the same class. Much like George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’, the masses now seem to be on the road of disillusionment from this type of politics. The common man does not need leaders to teach them self pity, what the masses need is hope and confidence on there ability to perform. The verdict is clear, India has voted for development and nothing else. Divided in urban and rural worlds, the Indian youth has multifaceted expectations from the chosen lot. Spurring up regional disparities has given way to large scale migration. The Lok Sabha represents each region of the subcontinent to balance the Parliamentary decisions on regional and socio-cultural scale. The LS is the voice of masses in decision making process. People expect a new vision from the new entrants. The Midsummer election dreams are now to be realized on the ground of reality. Now its time for the Young Turks to prove the iron of their elaborate degrees and experience. The poll results express hope, but this comes with immense pressure of performance. The educated class already feels it is disillusioned with the political process. Almost everyone who had an e-mail account received a mail informing about the ’49-O’, the ‘right not to vote’ option for the electorate. In the posh area of South Delhi as many as 50 voters even practiced the option. Though too little a number for a 100 crore plus country, yet it shows the desire to do something responsible. Instead of spending a relaxed afternoon in the disguise of lack of belief in the political system, these people decided to abstain. This shows the discontent and the lack of opportunity to something despite of having a wish, enthusiasm and ability. The educated youth as well as the rural and backward sections stand equally claiming dissatisfaction with the political system. In fact, dissatisfaction seems to be the only phenomena equally spread allover the country. It is yet to see what the youth will actually contribute to the democratic process. India has taken a stand, now it is for the MPs to perform. Anjali Ojha

India goes to polls:

As India is set to vote again a new twist can be seen in the campaigning. Leaving behind the age old tradition of addressing rallies and gatherings, the top notch politicians are busy clicking the mouse and keyboards. A step inside the 21st century and the computer revolution is now speaking for our leaders as they prefer blogs and text messages for their campaign. India the second most populous nation also has the world’s youngest population. With nearly 100 million voters in the age group of 18 to 24, the young India is no doubt where the political giants are focusing. For Indian democracy, political parties and our leaders, these are youth centric polls. Blogs and websites are perhaps the best way to reach the tech savvy generation that spends almost half of its day in the cyber world. But do these e-campaigns really motivate the young population to vote. Does our political system encourage or even tries to utilize the energy of the youth. Well, in a country with nearly 60 per cent of its population between 15 to 50 years of age, the average age of a Parliamentarian in India is 52 years. Since independence, the average age of our Prime Ministers has been 65 years, the youngest and exceptional being Rajiv Gandhi at 40. While the average age of an American President is 57 years while in UK it is 58. Our youngest minister in the 14th Lok Sabha was Mr Anbumani Ramadoss aged 40. The only other Minister below 50 was Mr A Raja. The difference is clear. While the US has 47 year old Barack Obama as its new President, we are looking forward for someone above 80 for the post. Our Parliament has come to age. While all government services have a retirement age, there is no age cap in politics. It is true that in democracy age limit can not be prioritized to popularity. However it should be ensured that the system does not crush the ability of the youth. Enthusiasm of youth is being crushed in the hierarchical structure which is as bad as following dynasty rule. So, is the Indian youth hopeless about its political system? Is the generation Y disapprovingly distanced from the whole process because it believes you have to be either a criminal or from a political family to survive in the field… Is it so that the youth think that we can not change anything so lets get aloof. Dreams are not manifested until we wake up and put thoughts in action. The youth wants development, education and employment. But we have no right to blame the system until we get included in it. While 30 percent of the voting base of India is constituted by its youth (aged 18-30) only 25 percent are registered to vote of which only 50 percent actually voted in the last Lok Sabha elections. Altogether hardly 12 per cent of Indian Youth actually voted in the last Lok Sabha elections. The recent Assembly elections took place in the shadow of Mumbai terror attacks. There was lot of protest against the ‘political system’ which could not ensure the safety of its citizens. Yet the polls in six states recorded an average 50 to 60 percent voting. How can we blame the system or the politicians when half of the citizens do not vote? On the d-day of assembly elections in Delhi, crowd could be seen at India Gate and Connaught Place while the polling booths were nearly empty. More over the lowest percentage of polling was recorded in the posh localities. It shows the urban educated class has little interest in political system. Even when we vote we are not really sure what we are voting for. Cast, religion or just a party our parents voted for. The problem is of quantity and quality as well. Or is it just the problem of lack of awareness. In a country with an independent media and over 250 news channels, availability of information is not the problem. The problem is lack of interest and responsibility. We do not understand how much each vote matters. Our voter i-cards have become just an identity card. If we need a bank account, or a pan card or a passport… we use it to prove we are Indian citizen. How do we call ourselves citizens without participating in the democratic process? How can we light candles at Jantar Mantar when we did not vote the day before? We are responsible, aren’t we? The youth today may not wear Khadi or spin the charkha. We love pizzas, adore nike sports gears and don’t mind being called ‘Mall mice’. At the same time we want to spin the wheel of development. We shout slogans protest and we also write blogs to show what we think. But what happens when the time comes to show the power of the masses. If we do not vote how can we complain about an overage Parliament? Perhaps the problem lies with the polling process as well. If you are out of our town on voting day, you can not vote. Seeing the present trends of migration, it is so obvious that the youth is mobile. We are in Delhi today, doing engineering in Bangalore next year, working in Mysore or Pune after four years. How does a person vote with the complicated and time taking process for getting your name in the electorate list? Change is needed, lets start it from ourselves. Let the polls for the 15th Lok Sabha be the true realization of the midsummer Indian dream of a nation waking up to manifest its dreams. Young blood matters, from every nook and corner of the nation, our votes will make us one setting an example for the continent and rest of the world.

Phoenix’s flight: Raising dreams from the ashes of the slums

India bagged another award, perhaps the biggest in the world of the art of film making, but is it the victory of art itself. Slumdog Millionaire was not just victory of Indian art; it is a reflection of the reality. Lauded abroad, criticized at home, we were disturbed because the movie depicted a truth, the reality of the lesser privileged. At the dawn of 21st century India stands holding within its boundaries contrasts and clashes. This is the clash of identity. The modern rising India wants to see itself as a developing nation. The young India is rich, ambitious and willing to work hard for its dreams. The young vibrant India loves its malls, pizza parlors, cool hangouts and ‘take it easy’ life style. This is the class of neo-rich Indians, the 21st century middle class. They can not see India as the land of snake charmers and elephant riders (though Delhi still has good elephant population and as per the traffic rules, if you ride an elephant, ride it with a tail light). This India was raged, is India a country of hungry and downtrodden people, why is the boy living in slums being called a dog, it was taken as gross insult and prejudice from the West. The truth however remains that more than one third of Indians live below poverty line, many even below rupees 20 a day. In a developing nation, in a country where we patronize Big Mac, a part of population survives on garbage. The dwellers of these lanes are migrants, economically weak, without any viable alternative. The problem has not just sociological and economical but psychological impact as well. The intensity of the problem increases when the displaced population is from a conflict torn zone. The best example in Indian context can be the Kashmiri migrants displaced because of the over decade long conflict. While those with sound economic background were able to provide good education to their children, many still dwell in the displacement colonies. The problem here is not just of means but of identity. The youngsters do not know what the life in the vales was, they do not belong to the plains, but they are not in the valley either. There is a divide, not just of the less and more privileged. The life build out of ashes of displacement and loss has given rise to a new generation with aspiration to touch the sky and perhaps to return to their roots as well. This is the struggle for identity and justice. The struggle is no different from their counterparts any where else in the country or even in the valley. Those left behind are also struggling with the same aspirations. The youth in Kashmir is interested in the future, a hope which was reflected in the assembly elections where development won the ballot. This is the struggle for dreams. Poor housing or low wages, dreams have no limitation. I remember during my masters’ degree I was given a project to study nutrition. I went to a slum in east Delhi with an elaborate questionnaire. It was a hair raising experience, I went to a woman washing clothes, asked her name, I don’t remember what it was, and then I put forward this silly question, “What do you usually eat for lunch.” That angry young woman looked at me very coolly and said “chicken feathers… we get them from the garbage in the nearby mandi.” A young boy came to me thinking I am from an NGO complaining about some health problems. Young girls surrounded me asking “Didi, are you going to open a school here.” I had no words and no wish but to run away. I wanted to close my eyes to this truth, or was it that I was too uncertain as what should be done. These were the future of India, the young India we boast. The population we are building hopes on. In the heart of the Nation and the national capital, people without food and shelter, children without schools, and a whole chunk of society left far behind in the rat race of development. But the silver lining on was the dream I saw in those eyes. This is the real flight of dreams, a flight after rising from ashes. As an ancient story goes…where the Phoenix raised from the ashes… India’s aspirations rise from every nook and corner even without the most basic facilities. The young India lives in its slums as in its apartments and buildings. So why do we want to turn a blind eye to it, are we in a self denial mode and fooling ourselves. We are not; we are dreaming better, we are aiming higher. But let’s not forget the dream of inclusive and equitable growth our leaders saw at the time of Independence. To be equitable, we’ll have to accept the other side of the story. It is not just for the politicians or policy makers to chant the mantra of equality, it is for every citizen like me and you to realise the strength you can get by empowering others. The young India has to grow and one strong limb can’t make you run. Slumdog Millionaire is not about the bias of the West, which bias does not matter; it reflects the bias we have. The bias that stops us from accepting the truth. A look at the youth which is wasted in dirty lanes; they have lesser facilities but no less hope. The young girls I met in East Delhi slum wanted to study. In there eyes you can see the hope, it may not be there after few years. This is the contrast which translates into a conflict when we see our counterparts on the other side of the car’s window. We are taught and made to believe they are not equally good, lesser humans, no just bad ones. We take our lesson to carry forward the legacy of a verbally dismantled feudalistic society. Let’s lean a bit more toward the socialist structure, they are Indians, equal in rights as a citizen but less privileged. Lets stand for them, accept it we have slums and poverty, change it. Let’s not run away, we are young and able, with the youngest population in the world.

Refelctions

As the new year walks in… parties and celebrations to mark the new beginning lighten up your surroundings. Lets make new resolutions, to make our life better.. what is yours? Kicking out bad habits, a bit of discipline in the haphazard lifestyle…. Are you planning to quit smoking or drinking? Or sticking to a new diet plans? Working hard to bring up your grades? Putting in that little extra effort to become your boss’ pet in office? Small resolutions can make big difference. Its new year, a reason to celebrate. But why are we celebrating. A year torn by financial crisis, terror attacks, hatred and sepration… gloomy but past now. It is gone so let us celebrate. Yes it is gone but is it past? 24.3% of the population earned less than $1 a day in 2005. According to the latest (as of December 2008) World Bank estimates on poverty, based on 2005 data, 256 million Indians, or 41.6% of the country's population, survive below the updated international poverty line of $1.25 (PPP) per day. Moreover, in India 828 million people, or 75.6% of the population, live on less than $2 a day, compared to 72.2% in Sub-Saharan Africa. Poverty is just one of the truths… we have witnessed worst. The multi cultural, multi lingual, versatile India we have been taught to be proud of is tearing apart. Every time a blast or an incident of terror takes place we start pointing fingers. We have classified our population in categories, there is a majority and then ther are minorities who fear partiality and oppression. Orissa was torn apart with riots, communal or ethical, they were riots killing the innocent. The majority claimed their leader was killed, they said the tribals were lured into changing their religion… can a civilized society justify killing innocents for blind revenge.
The nation was shook again and again; serial blasts tore apart the sense of security. Each time a bomb exploded, fingers were pointed. Delhi was shaken again and we were reminded that we are not safe any where, in markets, on the streets, are we facing some kind of civil war, what is this. Blasts were followed by encounters. Encounters do happen every now and then, but this one was more of a political issue than a issue of security. Some parties tried to cash on the majority and some tried to secure their vote banks among the minorities. The tagged electorate was divided. For in politics we are not humans but numbers. But we don’t understand this, or do we. Perhaps we do, Assembaly elections in 6 states showed that development, sadak, bijli and pani are bigger issues.
We then had, what was called a big revelation, the threads of investigation in the Malegaon case pointed toward the majority. Now, the tagged divided population is pointing fingers toward each other. We don’t trust police, we don’t trust our laws. The only truth for us today is our insecurity. Yes we are tagged and divided. Religion is just one of the things. Language, culture, cast are we one?
The Mumbai attacks made us realize that we can not stand if we are not one. We came together, but why is it so that until there is a threat from outside we can not unite? Aren’t we Indians above all? We are a secular nation; no one can stop any one from following a religion and in this tagged demography, the majority always came forward and said yes we want to be secular.
It’s New Year; lets add to our resolutions, a promise to live up to the nations pride. Question your self, what is my identity, a hindu, a muslim, a Christian, sikh, jew, parsi… majority, minority…. Backward, forward, dalit, SC- ST … or an Indian. Are we progressive, do we want to be progressive, can we be objective, can we move forward with 100 years old idea. Can we allow ourselves to be divided further…. Lets ask and ourselves and try to think beyond the lines. As Tagore said,
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow
domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action--
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
Have a Happy New Year

AAWARAGI

Rehguzar ka hai pata na manzilon ki hai khabar

Chal rahe hain chalna hai kismat yehi bas soch kar...

Hum nahi hain jaante kya hai smajhdaari magar

Ye safar hai is safar mein chalna hai kismat meri.

Log kehte hain theher hai rasta mushkil magar

Hum hain kuch aise theherna jinki fitrat mein nahi,

Hann magar waadein hain jinko saath le kar hoon chala.

Bas unhi waadon mein hai meri chupi manzil kahin

Saath koi ho na ho apna safar rukta nahi.

Aur main kehta hoon isko hain yeh meri AAWARAGI

THE ROAD NOT TAKEN BY ROBERT FROST

We look for a way in life.... a path to walk on...
he question is where we want it to lead us???
Frost chose the one less travelled, what about you?
Think where you want to go and how you want to go about it, chosing the less trveled path may make a difference, but chosing the one you like will change your life.

Here comes the poem:

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,And sorry I could not travel bothAnd be one traveler, long I stoodAnd looked down one as far as I couldTo where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,And having perhaps the better claim,Because it was grassy and wanted wear;Though as for that the passing thereHad worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally layIn leaves no step had trodden black.Oh, I kept the first for another day!Yet knowing how way leads on to way,I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sighSomewhere ages and ages hence:Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--I took the one less traveled by,And that has made all the difference.