I was reading about Paritrana, the political party formed by IITians. There has been quite a bit of of media coverage. No wonder a great initiative. But I don't know how successful they will be in overcoming the inertia the present present in India has gained.
While I write this, the debate on the confidence motion -- that the new chief minister of Karnataka H D Kumaraswamy has sought -- is going on in the Assembly. This debate is a good example of what need not be debated. Sadly our politics is largely, if not fully, made up of such debates. No doubt democracy is also about debating, but definitely not at the cost of action. And, debate important issues that matter to the society and its people.
What Paritrana can definitely achieve is bring about more awareness about the need for a change. There is nothing wrong with our politics; what's wrong is the way politics is managed and conducted. Let's wish Paritrana the best.
This is about everything that is evolving around us with time .... The changing trends .... Their highs and lows .... The changes that are making an impact on our lives .... From technology to social, economic and political issues ... Some books, some sports, some personal anecdotes.
Wednesday, February 8, 2006
Saturday, February 4, 2006
Politics and development
Off all that the new chief minister of Karnataka H D Kumaraswamy said after being sworn in yesterday, the one I liked the best was his declaration that he won't announce any (development) packages but take up problems on priority basis. The stress on development sounds good and looks like a contribution of the BJP partner.
I just can't understand, why in India development is still a very political subject. The need to have good roads, clean water, good shelter, uninterrupted power supply etc should hardly have anything to with which party is in power. These are basic needs that have got to do with the living standards of people, and they must be apolitical.
What parties can fight over are finer issues like whether working hours should be from 9 to 4 or 10 to 5, interst rates, whether retirement age should be 55 or 60, whether fuel price should be increased by Rs 2 or 4, whether marriage age should be reduced to 18 for guys, whether India should vote with US or against US etc etc
Our rate of development has been pathetically slow because of politicisation. All the progress we have still achieved (for the first time big powers like the US are talking about competing with India) is inspite of our politicians.
I just can't understand, why in India development is still a very political subject. The need to have good roads, clean water, good shelter, uninterrupted power supply etc should hardly have anything to with which party is in power. These are basic needs that have got to do with the living standards of people, and they must be apolitical.
What parties can fight over are finer issues like whether working hours should be from 9 to 4 or 10 to 5, interst rates, whether retirement age should be 55 or 60, whether fuel price should be increased by Rs 2 or 4, whether marriage age should be reduced to 18 for guys, whether India should vote with US or against US etc etc
Our rate of development has been pathetically slow because of politicisation. All the progress we have still achieved (for the first time big powers like the US are talking about competing with India) is inspite of our politicians.
Thursday, February 2, 2006
Time and watch
RR was showing off his newly acquired, expensive, imported, gold-plated watch costing something like Rs 18,000.
JJ, standing beside, asked him, "What's the time?"
RR: "10.30"
JJ, turning to me, looked at his watch and said: "It's 10.30, by my watch too!"
I looked at JJ's watch. A simple, elegant, beautiful one.
Later I asked him, "How much did you pay for this."
JJ said, "Rs 750. I have been wearing it for the last six years. The strap is a new one, though. I got it last week for Rs 75."
He then added with a wink: "Irrespective the of the cost, all watches, if set right, and maintained well, show the same time!"
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