Wanderings of Mind

Good intentions don't always lead to good results, unless they are backed by deep, balanced thinking and smart actions. Team Anna's intentions are no doubt, good. I differ with people who oppose Anna on grounds like, "He is questioning supremacy of parliament", "He is dictating / blackmailing parliament" or "First we should stop paying bribes and then talk". I feel the last one is especially idiotic. As an individual, I really don't have an option not to pay a bribe if I am pushed into a corner. People who pay bribes don't do it with pride and happiness, they do it with seething anger. That is the anger you see pouring out on the streets in support of Anna Hazare. Regarding parliament, well, I agree that this type of putting a gun onto Parliament's head and asking for something is not exactly a good thing to do. But who pushed things into this state? If Government and Parliament has worked the way it was supposed to work, where wa...

Ironically, on the one issue where the UPA government was not entirely wrong in its opinions, through inept political handling, they seem to have frittered the gains away. The government seems to be adamant on purusing a down-hill journey to 2014 elections. I am not so enamoured with Baba Ramdev's fast, though the issue of corruption and black money he is highlighting is to be highlighted. It is for the simple reason that the proposals and demands he made were quite impractical. And the demands seemed to change every now and then. Initially it was black money stashed abroad and an ordinance, withdrawal of 1000 and 500 rupee notes, then land reforms and even electoral reforms creeped in. Even in Anna Hazare's campaign, my main opposition was to the contents of the Jan Lokpall bill. But that was different. Because Anna Hazare was clear - that all he wanted was sincere discussion. He wan't on a fast until say, the bill was passed in parliament. But Ramdev was asking for an o...

It was little surprising to see the kind of support Anna Hazare received. Because, it made common people who normally don't get "disturbed" by such protests come out. This is not Anna Hazare's first protest. He has led number of protests in Maharashtra on various issues over the years. He comes across as a person with ideals. He does something because he believes in it, not because he'll get some benefit out of it. But the people support for this is a little worrying as much as it is gratifying. It's gratifying to note that finally, people are fed up with the steady flow of scams coming out. So much so that they are coming out in the open the moment someone looking credible is taking up cudgels against it. But it's worrying as well, as our tendency to support or oppose without proper reading and thought has come out in full display on this issue. Of all the public support Anna Hazare received, most of them had no clue about the Jan Lokpal bill that h...

A developed India is every Indian's dream. But we never see administrators take concerted action on the top few problems which when addressed will go a long way in acheiving this goal. I believe there are two key challenges where even concerted action can make a huge difference. This is a paradox of sorts. There is a huge demand across the country for skilled workforce for many sectors. We need many many more skilled electricians, plumbers, construction workers, IT personnel etc., On the other hand, there is a significant section of population who are either unemployed / unemployable or so under-employed that they struggle to get two square meals a day. Many industrialists point out that the problem in India is not population per-se, but unemployable population and un-skilled or under-skilled labour. That is why we need a nation wide skills development and employment initiative. This initiative should equip people with such skills free of cost and connect them with ar...

If congress and its UPA lose 2014 general elections, one of the key person they can thank for that is Digvijay Singh. Congress is living in a dreamworld of its own and Diggy has a part in creating that dreamland. Congress believes that a sop here and a statement there coupled with creating a danger alert about BJP can bring Muslims and weaker sections in droves to vote for congress. They would do well to remember Lalu Yadav's fate. His MY(Muslim-Yadav) strategy didn't save him at all. Caste combinations alone can't win any election. National elections are these days combination of various state level-national elections. Digvijay's loss in MP to BJP after two terms as chief minister cannot be forgotten. He was voted out based on popular perceptions of lack of roads and power - in summary lack of development. BJP is in power for the last two terms in MP. To go with his strategy of catching votebanks and painting others red would not help in the national election. ...

I am no fan of the Congress and it's President, Sonia Gandhi. But in a comment on various corruption scandals, she has said something that I agree with. She had said that our "moral universe" is shrinking and "Greed" is on the rise. It was really refreshing that a politician, for once, cared to talk about the root cause behind these scandals rather than the usual political responses of law-taking-its-own-course or bringing-culprits-to-book. The only sad part is that she, her son-cum-heir and her party only say such things, but don't live by it. Otherwise, how can she explain Shibu Soren, A Raja, Suresh Kalmadi and the various appointments of tainted politicians and bureaucrats to important positions like Governor, EC, CVC and others? As Sonia said, greed is the prime reason many of our even well-to-do politicians and bureaucrats indulge in scandals when they get a chance. Though no law can actually regulate greed, strict and speedy enforcement of laws...

There are things in common between Arunthathi Roy's defence of her as usual senseless Kashmir remarks and the encounter death of a driver in coimbatore. And what is coming out is one of the four top things ailing this nation's progress. For the uninitiated, Arunthathi Roy questioned Kashmir's accesssion to India at a seminar where maoists and Kashmir seperatist's participated right under our home minister PC's nose in Delhi. She said "... Kashmir has never been a part of India... Even Indian government has accepted this fact". When the government, egged on by BJP, considered slapping sedition charges on her, she released a statement saying among other things that "she only spoke for lack of justice and the need to ensure justice to all - to kashmiris, dalits and everyone else". Let's forget that it was a defence by Arunthathi Roy for a moment. What she said though is something true and you can see it everywhere. What is the need for encou...

The Google growth and success story has been the subject of many books. But to me as an ordinary Indian, the very fundamental lessons that we can learn from Google story are Simplicity and Understanding. Long back when Gmail came, it set the email stage on fire because of it's refreshingly simple interface, good performance and storage space which users really loved. Not that there were no gaps or problems - but Google has been able to understand and fix them and on top of it offer more features - like the growing storage space, chat within gmail etc.,. So, once you logged on to Gmail, Google has done something or the other to sort of keep you in Gmail. The recent priority inbox is another refreshing innovation aimed at making our life better in this age of email overload. Two things stand out from Google's story. One, Google's applications are almost always simple and down to earth - no complicated clutter. This simplicity and the stellar user experience it provides h...

It's been a very long time since I updated by blog. The last two posts were on India - Pakistan and to my dismay I find that it is still as relevant today - with the way we got snubbed by Pakistan during SM Krishna's disastrous visit recently. But having written enough on that, let me turn to something else - the monumental corruption in Commonwealth Games and why we should care and see the larger point behind that for us Indians. It's bad time for Suresh Kalmadi - he is being battered like anything for all the alledged misuse of funds, shoddy work, shady deals and all that. And everyone's response has been on predictable lines. Opposition cries foul, disrupts parliament, Congress distances itself from Kalmadi, promises a probe, there's one-expose-a-day in various TV channels, talk shows, expert opinions etc., etc., And then what? May be few cases, interrogations, arrest etc., and we'll forget it after that. Then we'll get another scandal and this cycle goes...

I don't understand what we achieved - apart from looking like impossible jokers. We invited someone to talk "something" without defining that "something". He came and blasted us for all world to see - the world powers need him so they won't speak a word. The entire government is eerily silent after that hell of a press conference by the Pakistani Foreign Secretary - even the normally tough talking home minister is completely silent. And after blasting us so heavily, Pakistan gets to say that India "is not willing to talk" while they are open to "discuss on any issue". The problem is that the government doesn't seem to be sure whether to talk or not to talk. We either talk or we don't. This business of "talking about something because we anyway have to talk" will get us nowhere except where it got us to this time - a seat in the loser's council. We need to understand something - that Pakistan will never be sincere ab...

The India-Pakistan show is again on. There seems to be no end to this crippling enmity despite so many years and so many regime changes in both Pakistan and India. I fear we might be discussing same stuff lets say 10 years from now as well. This has to stop. The first thing that has to stop is this obsession of India with Pakistan and Pakistan with India. If we don't like each other fine, but let's at least not get obsessed with each other. It's like two estranged lovers who can't stand each other. We don't have to be friends, but let's at least try to stop being enemies. We can be two neighbors who don't like each other but tolerate each other. Of course, I understand that its not that easy. But the point is it's getting ridiculous with all this needless IPL fiasco and all. Let's face the truth - US pressure or not, Pakistan is not going to stop supporting terrorists targeting India until they get over their terminal obsession - that India will some...

Its been quite a while since I updated my blog. And after this rather long sabbatical, I thought I should put some of my earlier thoughts into action. I always used to think that there should be an effective mechanism to document all our learning in life and share it with others. What better way than a blog! So, this series, titled "Making life easy and meaningful" will do just that, in an organized way. Most of us experience a myriad of emotions in life - we have seen happiness, sadness, expectation, disappointment, elation and some of us even depression. At the end of all this, life just keeps going. So, we all kind of understand that life is like this and you'll get your fair share of everything. It's just not worth it to feel too happy when something works and too sad and depressed when it's otherwise. At one level, we all understand this. But putting it into action is where it becomes difficult. I have learnt one thing - if something makes you so elated, then...

Well, its election time! And my blog after a long time also has to be about elections. Let's try to peek into the future and see the three major things we'll get if a congress-led goverment comes to power. 1. Unlimited does of "Secularism" - of course we don't mean well being of everyone by that term, we only mean that our government will be for the Minorities (with a capital M), Poor, Downtrodden, Dalits, Women and Marginalized sections of the society. Well, you see, its not secularism if you just say, "Our government will be for all citizens of the country - We don't see if they are majority or minority" - you become communal then (don't ask me how!) The even more funny thing about this is, you can repeat this statement after say 10 years as well. Because, the congress has been in power for most of the 60 years in our independence and this i-am-backward-poor-minority-downtrodden list is only expanding, not contracting! So, that is what unlimit...

Any ideology that doesn't allow differing viewpoints to co-exist peacefully is unfit for humans. It is not that the world is against Islamic countries or republics. The problem is with the Osama - Mullah Omar type interpretation of Islam which is troubling the whole world.  USA is thousands of miles away from the Islamic center of the world (referred to as middle-east), but is the most active player in the region, thanks to one 9/11. India, despite being the closest tolerant, secular and democratic country, is of little relevance in this part of the world. I feel we are too tolerant and distortedly secular. I am not suggesting that we should get involved in the muddy waters. But do we atleast understand what is happening in our neighbourhood and most importantly do we have any strategy to counter its effects on us? The way the government is acting doesn't certainly suggest that. It is now very clear that the Pakistani state has lost control of a significant part of Pakistan. Th...

How do you get your point of view across to people? And in such a way that they understand it and appreciate it? If we can do this effectively, we are sure to lead a successful and peaceful life. Though the question seems simple enough, finding an answer to this is a very tough task. (Read my earlier post on Learning the Hard Way as well). As usual, after quite some years of learning and unlearning, I have realized certain things about communication between people, which I am trying to put into practice. Whatever I have written here doesn't mean I am an expert in following them. It just means that I am trying and trying, to put it into practice! First and foremost, I have realized we can never change anyone; we can only change ourselves. Change has to come from within oneself. We can only aid or kick-start that, by pointing out what is what and trying to influence. Beyond that, its up to every individual. So, we should never set out to talk to anyone with the intention of changing ...

If I used to like certain periods in my school, the "moral science " is one among them - not that I hated the others, but this is of those you really look forward to. That's where you get to listen to many nice stories and learn nice morals as well. And of course, its one of those subjects you can hope to pass easily. At that age, I am not sure if I realized its importance. But since I was fond of stories anyway, the stories along with their morals got into me. When my parents, grand parents and well-wishers emphasized many of those values through many other anecdotes, I had a good moral foundation from childhood. When I see the various problems and scams in the society today, I think again and again, have we totally forgotten moral education? You can learn everything else from schools and colleges, but morals is something that you'll have to learn primarily from parents, with schools and other well wishers lending a helping hand. Many parents are so focused on their ...

If there's a time when you have to avoid talk or even a casual discussion, its when you are either hungry or sleepy. The reason is obvious - when your brain is focusing on helping the body manage until you get some food or sleep, it won't bother to help you tackle a discussion much. So, you normally end up saying something the wrong way and invite trouble. Sounds simple right? Well, simple things are sometimes the most difficult ones to follow. Forget about following, its tougher in the first place to realize it. If I think back, I have been a great patron of trouble, so to say. I have ended up inviting it unnecessarily many times, only to realize it later. Well, I am at least thankful that I realized it! Coming back to talking, this too comes under the list of things that I learned the hard way. They say, the best way to remember your wife's birthday is to forget it once. Similarly, mistakes of this kind are better learnt by doing them once or in my case, few times. It...

There are things about communication that all of us hear all the time. But there are some funny things that can happen between people who are known to be good in communication. My colleague once sent me a mail asking for "contact details" for a review that we had to do, or so the mail read. I had a doubt though as to why would she require the contact details when the person to meet and the location was already agreed. Anyway, I just sent her the details. I got a call within the next minute from her and we both couldn't control our laughter . As it turns out, she wrote "contact details" when she actually wanted to say "contract details" and realized it only upon seeing my reply. We were just wondering how much of a difference even a letter makes to the meaning of a word. This is something that all of us do sometimes. And these bloopers just help lighten the atmosphere and brings cheer to all concerned. Of course, this is not to mean that you can commi...

Another new year! A time to renew our hopes and look forward to a year of peace and prosperity. The year that went by wasn't too good in general - inflation, economic gloom and of course, terrorism. And the outlook for 2009 isn't particularly bright either, if you listen to economists. But as they say, all crises are good opportunities. Think about it - certain problems get solved or move towards a solution only when some crisis strikes us. Looked at this way, things that have happened in 2008 have the potential of changing the course of the world. Let's just hope that the changes are positive and bring cheer to everyone. That said, positive changes are difficult to come when you have an overwhelming majority of ruling class favoring status-quo. India is one of those countries where change is a critical need of the hour. We have not changed much from the 1947 times, politically. If any, our political class has turned from bad to worse. The change that we need critically is ...