Haidar: Ban No. Boycott Yes.

I have not seen Haidar. I do not plan to see Haidar. Ever! Does that deny me the right to talk about the movie? I am sure you can decide that for yourself.

Moviemakers in general are leftist liberals and anti-establishment (as long as the establishment is conservative). You have leftist luminaries like Vishal Bharadwaj, Anurag Kashyap, Rajkumar Santoshi, Gulzar et. al. from India. There are a whole bunch of them in Hollywood with the most rabid of them all, Oliver Stone leading the pack. The ones in Europe are using their bully pulpits to rail against Israel. So when you hear that a movie is political in nature or the background is that of some kind of political conflict, you can bet your last Rupee that it will be of extreme left in nature. Of course you have directors like Yasujiro Ozu, Akira Kurosawa, Sidney Lumet, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Martin Scorsese, who have also broached the topic of social injustice albeit in really sensitive and balanced ways; ways that force you to contemplate and not go on the defensive. But that is not the style practiced by most movie makers, especially Indian moviemakers who are about as subtle as the Kolhapuri or Kathiawadi curries.

Bharadwaj clearly has some talent. He has made some real clunkers but also good ones like Maqbool and Omkara (adaptations of Macbeth and Othello). His latest is an adaptation of Hamlet. Shashi Kapoor adapted Mahabharat in a way that did not ruffle any feathers. Kalyug was a fine and timely adaptation of a religious book. Bharadwaj himself adapted two of the Bard’s works without causing any controversies. Had he adapted Hamlet in the Indian corporate world electoral politics or almost any other social background, I am sure that the movie would have been a fine one like the other two. But the fact that he chose the Kashmiri terrorism at its worst as his palate with Basharat Peer as a co-author betrays his insidious leftist agenda. That the movie is released in the wake of the floods in Jammu and Kashmir where the death toll would have skyrocketed without the Indian Army’s efforts makes the movie downright despicable.

The real answer to such movies is yet another movie where the truth is spoken from all points of view. The plights of J&K Hindus who are refugees in their own country have not been portrayed in any movies. Bravery of our soldiers is either not shown at all or the portrayal becomes a mockery with singing and dancing. In the late 1990’s my wife had met Brigadier Chandpuri at the house of a common friend. The man was an extremely unassuming sort. However, he was portrayed in Border by a hysterical Sunny Deol. Add some song and dance and you have the perfect caricature of a brave son of Mother India. We have a long history of bravery in our country going back centuries. I will give you an example on just one soldier:

The first time the IMSF would see action would be a hazardous operation to blow up the Jaffna jetty. This was a crucial link to the LTTE’s suicide boats that was threatening the IPKF’s naval supply ships as well as the Sri Lankan navy. India’s naval operations decided to use the first batch of the IMSF to put together a team that would take out the jetty.

Naturally, the man they chose to lead the operation was Lt Arvind Singh. In the late hours of a summer night, Singh and his men slipped off an Indian naval ship and began to swim towards their objective a good 10-12 km away. Carrying their weapons and demolitions, the team slipped into the Jaffna harbour and laid their charges. As soon as the jetty blew up, the LTTE immediately detected the IMSF team and began to harass them with withering fire. Singh and his men returned the fire and began their long swim back to their ship. They returned without any casualties and, a year later, Singh would walk up the steps of Rashtrapati Bhawan to receive his Maha Vir Chakra.

Can the Indian moviemakers make movies on men like Arvind Singh or the Kargil operation or Battle of Longewal without making a mockery of these brave souls? No they cannot!! All they can do is spew their venom and spit in the eyes of the Hindu nationalists. These bastards need to pull out their heads from the mud and take in the smell of the burning flesh coming from various Muslim countries including the one next door that they so love.

So what do we do about it? Some people are asking for a ban on the movie. That is not an option. India is a free democracy with right of freedom of speech to all. If JNU leftists want to portray Hindus as cannibals waiting to feast of the flesh of Muslim babies then it is their right. But the Hindus are not without a weapon in the matter. It is vote and money. You vote against anti-national leftists and boycott books, movies and any creative outlets of the leftists or by the leftists. If you boycott Haidar and threaten to boycott anything made by UTV then you will see an immediate change in their attitude. Money talks and leftism walks. Lack of success and eventually funding will shut Bharadwaj and his ilk.

I encourage you to read our post: http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2011/05/brave-indian-soldiers-cowardly.html

"Attacker" Wrong. Sardesai Wrong And Worse.

I heard about Rajdeep Sardesai attacked by an NRI in New York. My first reaction was that it was wrong. Journalists, good or bad should not be touched. That is the first rule of a free society and a democracy. Violence must and can never be the way to express your point of view. It is not the Hindu way. VIOLENCE AGAINST JOURNALISTS SHOULD BE SHUNNED AT ALL COSTS.

Then I saw the video of the entire event. It started off as a heated argument with two Indian men. Nothing wrong with that. It still is a free exchange of views. But then out of the blue, Sardesai uses a profanity and lunges at the NRI. It was shocking to see that the “attacker” was actually the victim. It should not have been be shocking knowing the violent proclivities of leftists like Sardesai who want to be right no matter what the cost.

After watching the video, I must say that the moment Sardesai lunged at the NRI, he ceased to be a responsible journalist and became a leftist goon in the vein of the CPI or Trinamool or SP or BSP goons / “gundas”. After that all bets are off. I am happy to see that fellow NRIs did not join in and beat the daylights out of Sardesai in a fit of anger. Good show guys!! We are proud of the NRI’s showing this kind of restraint.

There is a bigger issue at work here. The typical Indian English media maven will sell themselves to the highest bidder and if shortchanged, will shamelessly use the bully pulpit i.e. yelling and screaming and try to shame their customer in public to get what they want. Sardesai and his entire ilk hold everyone who disagrees with them in pathetically low esteem. If you are a conservative Hindu nationalist who cannot speak fluent English then you really are down on their list with drug dealers and pimps; even lower than terrorists (you can guess why). What my venting indicates is that their behavior is infuriating. You really want to tear this bastard into pieces but you must control your anger. You must find another outlet to express your point of view. VIOLENCE MUST BE SHUNNED AT ALL COSTS. If you really want to punish the left wing media, then stop watching their TV shows. Lower TRPs will destroy these irresponsible journalists.

Going back to the event in Manhattan, you can see that despite of being the aggressor, this wretch managed to manipulate things and project himself as the victim. He has the media and fellow irresponsible wretches in the Editors Guild who were only too quick to jump to this man’s defence. The NRI who is just a common man has no one to back and support him. We are all helpless at the hands of these mass manipulators yelling lies on TV. Bleak, isn’t it? Not really.

We have gotten our revenge on every single pimp in the Indian media. They ran a systematic campaign to destroy Narendra Modi for over a decade, left no stone unturned to deny him the top job. And yet, we Indian went and voted for the man and won him the seat in an overwhelming margin. And if that were not enough, we can clearly see that Modi has shown media their real place in Indian polity - under the voter's shoe.

Q: CAN THERE BE A HARDER, MORE VISCIOUS SLAP ON RAJDEEP SARDESAI AND HIS ILK THAN NARENDRA MODI IN PM’s CHAIR?
A: NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Dear fellow Indians. I beg of you. Do not get angry and take matters in your own hands. We have the right man in PM’s chair who knows exactly how to handle Sardesai and his ilk. Work hard to ensure Modi’s success – now and in future. Ensure that BJP wins every forthcoming election. That would be our revenge on the criminally biased leftist English language media in India and every left wing thug who has made you feel small and helpless. Let your effort and vote do the slapping not your hand.

Modi Needs To Revamp His Cabinet

Modi Sarkar completed 100 days a while ago. People from both sides are evaluating the performance with predictable results. Two things do not set well with me with the 100 day evaluation.

First of all, this is not a movie where one can ascribe a Rupee figure and evaluate “Hit or Flop”. 100 day evaluation is something that is done in the west. In India other than providing the talking heads a topic to rant or rave, it does precious little. This brings me to the second point. In India, the moment the government machinery gets involved with all the babus in fray, things move at a glacier like speed. Getting anything done in 100 days is a miracle which is beyond even a miracle worker like Modi. However, one can get a sense of the direction of the government by the decisions taken. Most decisions taken so far are the kind which will any kinds of dividends any time soon.

So what DO I make of the government’s performance so far? Clearly Modi himself has changed the ways in which our government works. He has a vision which is evident in the “macro-decisions”. He is getting India involved in major deals with the three biggest economies in the world and that is in just over three months. Clearly he is as different from his predecessors as night and day. However he has come to the center from a high performing state and thus is going through a learning curve – clearly leading Gujarat and India are two different tasks. What we were hoping was that the cabinet he chooses will ease that learning curve and Delhi insiders like Jaitley, Swaraj and Rajnath Singh will do the heavy lifting thereby freeing some time for Modi to focus on governance. It is at this point that things start to become murky.

Rajnath Singh’s tenure so far has proven to be a damp squib. No key decisions have been made since he took over the all-important ministry. This is what NV Subramanian says about him:

Hitting a low, he has been identified with the chauvinistic pro-Hindi drive of his government which will end up destroying goodwill for it across the country, but is that all Rajnath Singh stands for as home minister Rajnath Singh shows no pride and does not have the bearing of a home minister. Now newspaper reports say Singh has been cut out of the appointment process of senior officials.

Arun Jaitley who has lost the only election he contested has shown only one talent – being at the right place at the right time and identifying Modi’s ascending star. He has positioned himself in getting not one but two plum ministries. This for a man who has no public or party worker support (how can lower level party worked support and respect a man who has never won an election?) and is in such terrible shape that he cannot stand for more than 30 min. He clearly suffers from every disease known to affect the super-rich. This is what NV Subramanian says about his first budget:

Arun Jaitley’s first budget was thunderously underwhelming. People inside government say Modi had little hand in the budget apart from making suggestions here and there because he did not want to cramp Jaitley’s independence. Very likely, he was testing his minister of finance. Whatever the prime minister’s verdict, the country was far from being satisfied. It reflected in comments that it was a “UPA-3” budget which might as well have been presented by Chidambaram. Smug Chidambaram said the same.

Not only has he presented a lackluster budget but also failed to rein in food prices. I do not know under whose purview the price control falls but it has to be under Finance or Home (bringing the hoarders to justice) but clearly these two men have utterly failed in price control and thus earned the sole black mark against the Modi government so far. Of course only Narendra Bhai knows why a seldom performing minister like Jaitley is handling two very important ministries.

The lesser said about Swaraj, the better it is. The woman who, after failing at every attempt to scuttle the good ship Modi, demanded a “samman janak” ministry. Right now she is no more than a glorified bureaucrat with Modi doing all the heavy lifting. Of course making deals with the three biggest economies is a task too important to be left with a person who could not rule Delhi effectively.

When Modi took office, he had to make compromises in doling out ministries. Pressures from RSS and Delhi establishment would have been too much to bear for a man who was a newcomer to the cesspool known as New Delhi. He is repeating what he did when he became a new CM – learn the ropes from people in the know. This is why he selected a number of people from the Vivekananda Foundation. These are people whose ability and patriotism are beyond reproach. The same cannot be said about his ministry because he had to select people from a certain pool of elected and selected (by RSS and Delhi establishment) people. Unfortunately, Modi does not have the luxury of a gradual learning curve. He has a learn fast, act soon and show immediate results so he can lay a claim to a much needed and an essential second term.

If you read an article by NV Subramanian, Modi is surrounded by people whose lives have been altered; whose morals have been questioned; whose hitherto pathetic work ethics streamlined with Modi’s own; whose easygoing lifestyles of entitlements challenged and changed. These are powerful people who are not going to give up the fight easily. Modi is up to the challenge as we saw during his tenure in Gujarat. However, he needs performers and people he can trust – the sort he had in Gujarat.

Modi needs to revamp his cabinet. He is firmly ensconced in the PM’s chair and has given his cabinet enough opportunity to show, if not results then vision and direction. His mid level ministers (the ones with less than samman-janak portfolios) have responded very well. Modi needs to identify the snake in the grass babus and non-performing ministers in his government and weed them out before they become millstones around his neck. Clearly Jaitley (who is just one of them) with his ongoing health issues need to take leave and enjoy his crores and leave governance to people who know how. Now that sacrifice would be patriotic and endear him to people like me. If he and others like him do not leave with dignity then they need to be dragged out screaming. Otherwise Modi can forget about his second term.

NV Subramanian’s article on evaluating ministers can be read at:
http://newsinsight.net/TeamModi-4..aspx#page=page-1

NVS’ article on the chakravyuh around Modi can be read at:

http://newsinsight.net/Aheadofthegame.aspx#page=page-1

Dear Brits: Indians And Pakistanis Are Different.

We write after the Scottish vote on freedom from England. You may think that all is well in the Queen’s backyard. Hardly so. The Brits may be loath to admit it but some of their decisions made in the past are coming back to haunt them in the worst possible ways. As victims of their brutality, we could not care less about those chickens coming to roost but when it affects us or our names we do care. I will explain.

If you understand the concept of “Hum-kitaab” you can understand the mutual respect between Muslims and Christians. “Hum-kitaab” refers to overlap between Bible and Quran. No such overlap exists between Hinduism and those religions which would explain constant mistrust rather than mutual respect between the west and India. While it did not erase it, some of the mutual respect between Christians and Muslims evaporated in the aftermath of the 9/11 carnage.

It is quite amazing that despite of repeated proofs of the peace loving nature of Hinduism we are still looked upon as some sort of brain washed cult followers. On the flip side despite well-established penchant for violence demonstrated by Muslims, they continue to find favors with the west. In fact if it was not for Israel and the anti-Jewish violence and hatred demonstrated by the Muslims we would be deeper waters.

The history of raj days especially that of British dealings with Hindus and Muslims and eventually India and Pakistan depends a lot on whom you listen to. Muslims / pakis / Indian liberals will tell you one story while the nationalists will tell you another. Being a nationalist myself, I tend to believe the latter. While their version of history can be debated, the results of their version is there for all to see.

Of course if you go back in our History, it is quite obvious that the British preferred dealing with Muslims. It clearly went beyond their “divide and rule” policy. It could have been due to their familiarity with Islam. If we look at the goings on during the partition, it is clear that the British thought that a Muslims Pakistan would be a better bulwark against spread of communism. They conveyed this to the American who then went to ally with the pakis. This alliance was so precious to them that they chose not to tell Nehru about the impending attack by the Pakistani army on J&K which resulted on the loss of huge amount of land in J&K to Pakistanis who then went and gifted some of it to the Chinese. Clear case of Pakistan over India. Go a decade ahead and you will see another blunder by the Brits. When cloth mill workers were needed in England then chose to import all those workers from Pakistan (current day accounts say that Indian workers were taken as well but that is a lie or a token number of workers may have been taken). Those workers are now part of the establishments (as in voters and politicians) and their children are creating a havoc in England. Britain has become a steady source of terrorists to the world now. We saw the terrorists associated with the Finsbury Park Mosque. Now we are seeing a steady stream of British Muslim terrorists into Iraq. The ISIS superstar Jihadi John if from London. Things have become so bad that people refer to London as Londonistan. All this is because of the British policy of appeasement. The British conservative will have you believe that it is because of political correctness. Are these the same people who killed 1500 people in Jallianwallah? Are these the same people who led by Churchill denied tens of lakhs of famine victims of Bengal any relief because they could not take away any resources from British navy? These people ruthlessly ruled India and now they are telling that they are helpless at the hands of Labor Party / Liberal media’s political correctness? Of course if you look at the Indian immigrants and their children in England who are doing exceedingly well, the current state of British Muslims becomes a real head scratcher. It is clear that over two centuries of rule did not teach them the difference between Hindus and Muslims. Either that or they refused to do so because of their extreme hatred for us.

If the British policies of the past and recent past are yielding so many terrorists then aren’t the British responsible for them? It started off with Biryani and now it is bombs. If Jihadi John is beheading American and Israeli journalists and a British muslim woman is running a brothel with Yazidi girls for the muslim terrorists of ISIS amongst other atrocities, then what is the culpability of the British government?

If this were not bad enough another example of bad British policies has reared its ugly head in the town of Rotterham. This what was said in a report by John 'O Sullivan: 

Britain has felt real shock and horror over the report that 1,400 young women in the South Yorkshire town of Rotherham had been groomed, raped, prostituted, trafficked, and brutally abused in almost every possible way by a criminal gang for the last 16 years.

This what was said in another article:

The researcher, who was seconded to Rotherham council by the Home Office, was told she must "never, ever" again refer to the fact that the abusers were predominantly Asian men.
Speaking to the BBC's Panorama programme under the condition of anonymity, the researcher said that she identified more 270 victims of trafficking and underage prostitution by mainly Muslim gangs in Rotherham.

One only has to read any one of the dozens of articles written to read about the brutality inflicted on these girls. These girls may have been wayward and unloved at home but they deserved better. They were collectively let down by the British society in the name of political correctness. Hindus are quite capable of inflicting unspeakable cruelties as was witnessed in the Nirbahaya Rape case. However, the way the Pakistanis carried out this systematically is what blows one’s mind. We can see that in some articles which try to point the blame at vote-bank politics of Muslim appeasement in England (sounds familiar?). Labor party is like SP / BSP / Congress / CPI of England. It for this reason that the British liberals refer to the Pakistanis as Asians, grouping them with Indians and Chinese.

So what is my problem? Britain raised terrorists are beheading westerners but they will eventually get to us. Will the stiff upper lipped, self-righteous British society stand up and accept their culpability in these beheadings?

Why am I upset about the rapes perpetuated on British girls? It is because all this while they kept saying that Asian gangs are committing these atrocities. It is only now that some of them are getting up and saying that Pakistani men are carrying out these systematic and brutal atrocities. My appeal to the Brits is as follows: Indians in England (on an average) doing better than the white natives. You know what and where the Pakistanis (on an average) are. So please differentiate between Indians and Pakistanis. We are not the same. You should know. You created the two countries.

What started off with Biryani let to Bombs and beheadings and now “Balaatkaar”? The British are responsible for what is going on in their country. I am not taking pleasure in all this but I could not pass up an opportunity to say – I told you so!

Articles mentioned above can be read at:
http://www.nationalreview.com/article/387428/1400-english-girls-raped-multiculturalism-dennis-prager
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11069178/Rotherham-researcher-sent-on-diversity-course-after-raising-alarm.html

http://www.nationalreview.com/article/386648/rotherhams-and-englands-shame-john-osullivan

Hindustan , India and Bharatvarsh !

(This article was written by a friend of the
 blog)

Every Independence Day, our August 15th, brings with it a moment to reflect about being a Hindu, an Indian and a Bharatiya! History tells us that once upon a time the undivided Bharat extended as far as Takshila and Gandhar in the west, what we now know as Afghanistan and Baluchistan, with references in the holy Hindu texts to prove the fact. We all know that with the passage of time, invasions, occupation by foreign invading forces, Bharat kept cutting away various parts of its body allowing the creation of countries that did not exist before -Afghanistan , Pakistan and Bangladesh, all declared as Islamic nations. India had to suffer the ignominy of being ruled by Mughals and the British from as early as 1200 AD onwards only to gain full freedom on August 15, 1947 because we lost various wars since we were not united as a nation and due to the policy of Ahimsa, became a non-warrior community.

There was no Hindustan or India until the invasions disrupted life in an otherwise peaceful and prosperous region where the key principles of Hindutva was a way of life! Amongst so many kernels of wisdom and guiding principles of Vedanta and Sanatan Dharma, two most well known are : "Sarvay bhavantu sukhina , sarvay santu niramaya ...." and the much known and quoted phrase of "Vasudhaiva kutumbakam". The recorded history tells us that a peaceful and prosperous Bharat became victim of religious wars and expansionism of Islam and Christianity (also known as the crusades and jihads) and the accessing the rest of the world by the western imperial powers for economic plunder and destruction. Every Indian today must know its glorious past as also the inglorious moments in history. It is these invaders who gave us the names of India and Hindustan , depicting thereby a country inhabited by Hindus !

Therefore, a question that nags me all the time is why a country of over 1.2 billion people of which over 80% are Hindus, the original inhabitants, does not call itself a Hindu nation? I recognize the politics of it all as the politically correct word "secular" got in the play ever since Independence and the Nehruvian Fabian socialism! As a result of which a country which is home to the largest population of Hindus cannot call itself as a Hindu state because somehow it will lose its secular credentials if India calls itself as such! In reality, theory and practice, Hinduism is the most liberal, democratic, religious and secular social practice in the world that somehow got lost in translation. Among the warring and aggressive Christian and the Islamic faiths the world is divided as Christian and Islamic countries. We now once again see a resurgence of the clash of civilizations with ISIS calling to raise its flag on the White House itself ! While the democratic form and reforms of governance has brought social shifts in accepting the principles of human rights, separation of the church and political governance in the western world, Islamic nations continue to remain within the shackles and impositions of conditions of Sharia.

The question therefore is what about us Hindus? Are we going to, once again, get caught in the battle between Christianity and Islam as a victim or remain an unwilling mute and a marginal player? Or we will have the courage to emerge as courageous nation (not nonaligned) and act or get to really establish and claim the rightful place in the world teaching, spreading and inculcating the values of the Sanatan Dharma and Vasudhaiv Kutumbakam in true sense of the word? That too without ANYONE having to convert himself from his original faith he/she was born in? Hindus and Indians must assert themselves, an act they seem to have forgotten, about how religious acceptance as practiced by Hindus is far superior to the policy of religious tolerance ! Bharat was welcoming of all faiths from all over the world and the practices of Hinduism allowed people to follow their own consciousness to pray to whoever and whatever they wanted to if that is what got the best out of them as human beings. The worshippers of Ram do not insult Krishna worshippers. Arya Samajis have no quarrels with Brahmo Samajis . Ganesh celebration has no clash with Durga worshippers and Hindus visit temples whether it is Guruvayoor or Mahabalipuram in the South or Krishna temple in Mathura or Pashupatinath in Kathmandu !

The world is in terrible religious and political conflict on the one hand, and war today, on the other. It is incumbent on us Hindus to assume our rightful place in the world as the mediator of peace. As Indians it is our obligation and duty to share with the world that there has never been a war between two sects or followers of Hindu beliefs. Shiva worshippers do not kill Durga worshippers and most often every temple is home to all incarnations of various Gods. If Shia and Sunnis accept Hindu principles and practices, it will mean that so many innocent children and people will not have to lose their lives and become an unwilling victim in all the conflicts threatening the world peace. If Christianity is threatened by Jihadis/ISIS extremists in the Middle East , let us collectively condemn the act of religious conversion as an act against God's original wish. If God wanted me to be a Christian or a Muslim, He would chosen my parents accordingly as well ! But He chose a Hindu family and I am so grateful to Him. Thank you God for making me a Hindu.
I hope India, that is Bharat, assumes the role that is waiting to happen.

New York based Vibhuti Jha is President, Human Potential Project. Prior to joining HP2, he was a senior officer with A m e r i c a n Express Bank International.

Wake Up Call For Modi Sarkar

An article written last month on this blog suggested that Modi government needs to show some immediate and tangible results as proof of their efforts. Bypoll results just declared show the importance of that. Losing to Lalloo-Nitish combine is a painful reminder of two things that Modi seems to have forgotten very quickly.

a. All politics is local.
b. Typical Indian voter has a very short attention span.

A Hollywood director and one of my favorites, Quentin Tarantino recently announced his latest movie, The Hateful Eight. He is not even done with casting and he has already put out a teaser trailer. This is to keep his fans and investors happy that work in ongoing on a movie which will get released in the end of next year. A very wise move if you think about it. There is a lesson in this for Modi Sarkar.

Ever since taking over the PM’s office, Modi has taken tough and right decisions in a timely fashion. He has shown sagacity, vision, clarity and political courage. But most of the decisions taken are the kind to show their impact in the long run. Dismantling of the Planning Commission and RTOs are bold and timely moves but do not impact the voters’ lives immediately. In NOIDA area potatoes are selling at over Rs 80/kg. A person struggling with prices of the most basic needs is not going to be impressed by what India may or may not become over the next decade. I had to reluctantly agree with Rashid Alvi’s criticism of Modi’s Independence day speech. While everything about the speech was groundbreaking and inspiring (what a welcome change from speeches we have come to expect from our PMs including Atalji) , what clearly was missing was any mention of the rising prices. Modi did everything right except what matters the most. Voters are willing to forgive a lot (sadak, bijli and paani). If I had heard any mention of plans to curb the prices in the same vein as other relevant issues, I would have rested easy knowing that a clown like Alvi will have no ammunition to attack Modi. If the government is unable to control the prices then they need to offer a plan along with a mea culpa. If they cannot do that then they can kiss getting a majority in the Rajya Sabha goodbye.

Now I do not know which of the ministers deals with the rising prices. If it is a financial matter then it is Jaitley. If it is criminal hoarding by dalaals, then it is the Home Minister’s fault. But at the end of the day, it is not Jaitley Sarkar or Rajnath Sarkar. It is Modi Sarkar. If his people cannot get the results then the ultimate responsibility lies with Modi.

There are a lot of things that can be done to show that the government is on the job and doing their best. A cursory read of our post on the matter (url below) will give you a sense that quick and visible results are important and doable. A smart and politically savvy man like Modi needs to realize that, forget the ballpark, governing India is not even the same sport as governing Gujarat. Just looking at the bigger picture while ignoring the details is fraught with political perils. He needs to produce fast or else his job is going to become very difficult.

Our post with suggestions about some quick results can be read at: http://thenethindu.blogspot.com/2014/07/modi-sarkar-needs-to-show-results.html

True Indian History: Does It Help Or Hurt Us?

It is said that winners write history. This clearly implies that history is the winners’ version of the truth. Our PM recently mentioned 1200 years of slavery. These 1200 years were followed by six decade long rule by Congress and their agenda supporting minions. Anyone not living in a cave knows about Congress’ votebank politics. This means is that in the last 1260 years truth has been one of the big casualties.

For the first time Indian Conservatives have power (Atalji was bound by coalition dharma so his power was hostage to the likes of Nitish Kumar and Chandrababu Naidu). Modi sarkar wants to right some of these wrongs and include oft ignored truths and blatant Congress serving lies. This has left the yesteryears victors i.e. the leftists in a tizzy. Everyone with access to any kind of a media outlet is spewing venom. The latest is an article written by Mihir Sharma (“Eminently Funny Historians” – google it to read the article if you want to). A legend in his own mind, Sharma is clearly having a hard time accepting defeat of Congress and destruction of Indian left. He rants against the appointment of Y Sudarshan Rao as the head of the Indian Council of Historical Research. Sharma thinks that Indian History will be rewritten, undoing all the work of the Indian left. All Sharma offers in the way of argument are sarcasm and vitriol. He also rants against pro BJP bloggers and social media (we should thank him for indirectly giving us some credit for the BJP’s landslide victory). Sharma has no options other than biting the bullet and hope that Congress finds some way of winning in 2019. Good Luck with that Sharmaji!

Vivek Gumaste whose articles are always a pleasure has expressed his opinion on the matter. Here is an excerpt from that article (Gumaste refers to Rajeev Srinivasan):

“The West Bengal government in 1989 issued guidelines that said: ‘Muslim rule should never attract any criticism. Destruction of temples by Muslim rulers and invaders should not be mentioned.’ Dated 28 April, 1989, it [the circular] is issued by the West Bengal Secondary Board. It is in Bengali, and carries the number “Syl/89/1”.
Written in Bengali and designated as true (Shuddo) and false (Ashuddo), some of these deliberate distortions are listed below.
Ashuddo: “Sultan Mahmud used force for widespread murder, loot, destruction and conversion.”
Shuddo: “There was widespread loot and destruction by Mahmud”, i.e. no reference to murder or forcible conversion.
Ashuddo: “The non-believers had to embrace Islam or death”.
Shuddo: All matters on this page to be deleted.
Ashuddo: “He looted valuables worth 2 crore dirham from the Somnath temple and used the Shivling as a step leading to the masjid in Ghazni.”
Shuddo: Delete “and used the Shivling as a step leading to the masjid in Ghazni.”

Clearly these half truths are perpetuated in the name of communal harmony but the truth is a lot more insidious with far reaching and damaging effects. True Hindu Muslim unity and peace cannot be obtained by hiding the truths. Today Germans and Israelis have achieved peace but only after Germany have accepted their culpability in the Holocaust. This brings us to the issue I really want to address. How important is history to us? Do we need to or just deserve to know the unvarnished truth?

It is said that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it. I suppose 1200 years of slavery is proof of that. If we had learned our lesson from the India’s occupation by the Mughals then we may have dealt with the British in a different way. History teaches us what NOT to do. It also tells us what we should be proud of. Patriotism may be the last refuge for many a scoundrel but for the man on the street it is also a panacea for all kinds of society ills. Patriotism teaches us about collective responsibility which can solve many a problem we are facing. Leftists who are afraid of patriotism degrading into jingoism leading us away from free thought are either lying to themselves out of ignorance or to the others for self serving reasons. Citizens of western democracies especially the US are very patriotic people at micro level (strong collective sense of responsibility for their neighborhood and community) and at macro level (the entire nation). And yet those societies are far from regressive and closed in nature.

India as a whole could benefit from learning the unvarnished truth about our nation. If the truth exposes skeletons in the Muslim closet (atrocities against Hindus) or the Hindu closets (sati, dowry, female feticide, atrocities on lower castes) then so be it. It is high time that all the Indians looked into the mirror and accept their culpability and responsibility. Otherwise we are doomed to live a lie and repeat the mistakes of our forefathers.

I had great hopes from Modi sarkar. The stress of the government should be on the truth and nothing but the truth. They really should stay away from embellishing or demonizing any one. They should tell the truth and let the people be the judge. I can understand not naming the countries involved in Netaji’s disappearance. Although those countries, if confident and mature like Germany then should come clean. What I do not understand the extreme reticence in coming clean on the 1962 debacle with China. Current leaders and future generations need to know what mistakes were made by Nehru or anyone else. Arun Jaitley is in no position to make a judgment on the matter. He is not even an elected person. HE DOES NOT REPRESENT ANYONE! I want to know PM Modi’s word on the subject.

Lies and half truths of the past are like shackles, keeping us from achieving the true freedom of thought. We cannot make informed decisions about the future if we brush the past under the proverbial carpet. I hope that Narendra Modi government would be different from the governments of the past. He needs to trust his voters and should let them decide what to do with history.
The Gumaste article with references to Rajeev Srinivasan's original article can be found at:
http://www.rediff.com/news/column/the-bjp-is-not-rewriting-history/20140722.htm

PM Modi, President Obama and the potential new swing in India-US relationship

by Vibhuti Jha, President, Human Potential Project

The election of Mr. Narendra Modi and his party, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), to lead India ,for the next five years , has been a watershed moment in the Indian political scene in as many years. After a long time, one single party has been voted in with majority to overcome the malaise and sufferings of “coalition politics” the country had to endure for the past ten years of the Congress party led UPA. The people of India are anxious to see India reach its full potential to become a true leader in the world economy leading to higher employment, bring good jobs and better livelihood for all. The majority given to BJP leaves it with no excuse if it were to fail in that promise made to the people of India. In a complex and complicated country like India, patience is running short and the electorate will be, as it must, very unforgiving, as the leaders of the UPA government experienced in the recently concluded national elections.

With the United States as the leading economy, struggling with massive debts and in need of new markets, India and the US are keenly poised to take advantage of the opportunity that exists today for both the countries. To let that opportunity go by will prove to be the undoing of the promises made to the people of both countries.

President Obama called former PM Manmohan Singh a "wise" and "decent" man. I am sure he will be very wisely selecting the most appropriate words to define and describe Mr. Modi when the two meet in Washington, DC, Come September, pun intended! India and the US have enjoyed a bitter sweet romantic relationship with lots of promises and also suffered a relationship mired with exuberance and disappointments. Both the countries share an equal amount of frustration , unhappiness, hope and possibility and are now poised to transcend the relationship to a deservingly high levels.

Despite massive possibilities, the potential has never reached levels that was expected. Therefore it may perhaps be useful to examine the potential and possibilities, and also what is missing, to take this association and relationship to a trusting and sustainable levels. Both leaders owe this to their people, who elected them in the first place and who they are supposed to protect and defend at all times as their primary responsibility. It is equally important to note that despite differences at the Government and official levels, at the people to people levels both countries have enormous respect for each other. Both India and the US are champions of diversity and are home to virtually all faiths and religions of the world. Both are authentic melting pots!

I was once asked in a PBS TV program conversation as to what India could teach the US. I said there is hardly anything for India to teach but there is a lot to share and learn from each other. India and the US are world’s two premier democracies , in size, tradition and demography with truly diverse populations and both are a genuine melting pot and champion of diversity. Both the countries have an enormous opportunity to build on these elements and must try to fill in the gaps in disagreements with all sincerity! Mere word play and offering praise for each other’s history , traditions and possibilities will no longer be sufficient to mollify the feelings. People of India will be keenly watching and observing the outcomes of this summit with reference to specific actions put in place.

In fairness to both leaders, they have already risen above the moment of crisis and have shown exemplary attitude, maturity and fortitude to seize the moment. Mr. Modi did not allow the personal insult, of denial of visa, to visit US and Mr. Obama overcame this moment to invite him for a full discussion with Mr. Modi at the White House after the UN meet in New York, instead of meeting him on the “sidelines” of the UN General Assembly. For both, the national self-interest is the guiding principle to get to know each other to further an actionable relationship. While the mandarins of Indian Foreign Service and various economic ministries, on the one hand, and the US State Department and business interests, on the other, will be working overtime to fashion a good PR spectacle, both the leaders will be well advised to get to know each other better than just serving verbal platitudes.

In the light of the above, let us here look at only a few aspects of the opportunity that merits a serious consideration.

One, both countries need each other for revival of the two economies. India needs US technology, manufacturing processes and defense cooperation to bolster its economy and security concerns. The US needs the Indian market and its potential to create a sustainable economic future for itself. While Mr. Modi won the elections on the promise of “Growth and Governance” as his clarion call to the people of India, Mr. Obama is working overtime to remove income inequality and improve social justice to his people. Both the leaders are tweaking the capitalist process in their own way. India is heading towards encouraging a true free enterprise economy for better growth, higher incomes, new employment opportunities for the youth of India and unfettered opportunity, the US is attempting to provide its people more social justice. There is so much to learn and share with each other and get over the avoidable mistakes in the process.

Secondly, the United States must recognize and acknowledge the fact that India and Indians are perhaps the closest friends it can have. This is true despite the American frustration and gripe about India’s flawed and pompous non-alignment policy. Indian concern and reservations about the US policy is directly related to the American penchant for sleeping with its enemies! Both India and the US are direct victims of the shenanigans of its so-called friend and India’s neighbor, Pakistan. People of India and the US have been targeted victims and lost hundreds of lives and both have invested time and wasted resources in Pakistan to no avail or any tangible outcomes. Pakistan is a political curse for India and an economic drain and loss of precious American lives on both the countries. We need to jointly address that concern. If the US wants to improve the bilateral economic ties taking it from current 100 billion US dollars to a goal of 500 Billion US Dollars, the US will have to look at the security concerns of India with more seriousness than it does today. If the US-India business have to reach that great target, the US will have to invest in creating an environment of peace and being responsible to protect and defend its own allies and investments.

India faces an existential threat from the marauding and barbaric hordes of Islamic terrorism and so does the USA. Everyone and his pet knows that Pakistan is the training ground for major terrorist acts where they all return to after committing their murderous acts. The American people are bewildered by the fact that it almost appears as if we Americans fund Pakistan to kill American lives. We the people of America need to know and ask of our leaders why Pakistan has such Anaconda like grip on the US.

Finally, for the Indian Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi, this is the golden opportunity to define himself and set the narrative to the western media and news barons! So far, he has had to suffer the indignity of being defined by the self-appointed and self-anointed “India experts” to the extent that one prominent, award winning Indian journalist called him a man with “a dark side of Hindu nationalism”, as if a “white or fair side of Hindu nationalism” would have been acceptable as a lesser evil! The narrative of India and Indians has to be restated as the world’s IT hub, educated man power, eager and anxious to grow , accepting diversity as way of life , willing to adapt and accommodate all faiths and religions. He must tell the world, who doubt India’s credibility as a secular nation, that India had, in the last ten years, a Sikh as the Prime Minister, a muslim and a woman occupied the office of the President of the country and the then ruling party (now the largest opposition party) had/has the Roman catholic Italian woman as its leader. No country in the world can claim or boast of acceptance of such diversity and the opportunities everyone enjoys in India. The world needs to know and learn from the Indian way of life, despite all its inadequacies as we know about. India is ready for the enhanced role in global affairs, be it economic and politics or both and she must claim it. This meeting between the US President, Barrack Obama, and the Indian Prime Minister, Mr. Narendra Modi, has epochal significance for both the countries and the time to embrace change has arrived. They cannot allow or blame an angry duck across the street from taking the big step forward.

The article was published in: http://www.nalandainternational.org/index.php/85-article-catergories/all-articles/730-pm-modi-president-obama-and-the-potential-new-swing-in-india-us-relationship

Modi Sarkar Needs To Show Results

Voters all around the world have a notoriously short attention span. How else can you explain UPA-II? The current government was elected with great hopes by the voters after promises of all kinds were made by the Modi campaign. Now that the campaigning is over and it is down to business, the fickle minded voters are going to demand results. With Congress leaving India in the fields (can’t really say toilet now can I?) there cannot be any honeymoon period for Modi.

By all indications, the man is a workaholic and a taskmaster to boot. Anyone who can make desi babus to work is aces in my book. Every move that he has made, every decision that he has taken has received kudos from non politicians. The politicians especially the Congress variety who are still in denial about the drubbing, continue to show entitlement. Despite of clear cut rules, they are demanding the opposition leadership. Unable to shed off the 800 pound monkey AKA Gandhi Family of their backs, the Congress are offering invalid criticism sounding more petulant than responsible. Their criticism of the Rail budget is pathetic (A man who is in no position to talk of vision and future, Rahul says the budget lacks vision. WOW!). Meanwhile similar sharpening of knives are being seen elsewhere as well. If you understand politics then you know that all this is expected.

Important state elections are on the horizon. Modi govt. knows that and are asking for 12 to 18 months for results. It is not too long to ask to clean up a decade of criminal neglect, incompetence and corruption. Indian voter should be patience and give this govt. a real chance to solve these problems. However, we all know that the voter is a fickle person. Prices are still high, electricity still scarce, temperature still high and a poor monsoon is expected. Except the hardcore BJP supporters, Indians will be asking for results – sooner than later. Unfortunately for the BJP all the aforementioned problems are going to take a while to get resolved. Economy cannot be fixed overnight. Infrastructure could take better part of the next five years. To win the upcoming state elections and maintain the voter confidence, Modi sarkar really needs to show tangible results and measurable success before long. Here are some suggestions.

1. They need to go after hoarders and middle men in the consumable goods market. Distribution of food in storages need to be taken up with extreme urgency. If there is going to be a drought (no matter how partial), the poor are going to get affected. Distribution and price control of basic food needs to be taken at a war footing.

2. Power plants are not running at their optimum because of shortage on coal supply. Sounds like an eminently solvable problem. This also needs to be addressed in a hurry.

3. The Rail budget is a very good move. However people need to see that increased fare is resulting in better services. At the very least safety and cleanliness in our trains need to be addressed quickly.

4. Safety. Even a slight improvement is going to get noticed. The way the stranded Indians have been brought back from Iraq has not gone unnoticed even in the BJP unfriendly state of Kerala. The BJP really need to establish courts to expedite the rape cases. These cases really need to be adjudicated and the rapists need to be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Maneka Gandhi was never the best person for the job but now that she has it, she really needs to step up and ensure the welfare of our women. Terror cases also need to be addressed. The lingering ones need to be solved and the guilty punished. Going after criminal infrastructure of people like Dawood Ibrahim will also get noticed. Rajnath Singh needs to justify his appointment to the second most important post in the government.

5. Black money in and out of India. I never understood why we could not go after black money in India. Arvind and Tinu Joshi who is the IAS couple from MP, accused and proven to have stolen more than 300 crores are still in the employ of the Indian government. Why is it taking so long to expel them from the services and send them to jail. Imagine the message sent to the babus and the voters. As far as the money abroad, we now have the attention of the western world. They know India is open for business. We really need to use that clout and force the foreign banks to return the Indian black money. Even If it the return gets initiated, Modi sarkar can claim a huge victory which will be appreciated by the Indian voters.

The list is by no means complete. I am sure that there are many other ways that Modi sarkar can show tangible and immediate progress to the voters. But the voters need to see their government in action. They need to see the results. They need to see someone unlike the leaders before, is in charge. The Gujarati Lion needs to transmogrify into the Indian Tiger. Modi needs to earn his stripes. He needs to do it in a hurry. He needs the voters to see that.

"Big Troubles Are Coming ..Soon"

by Vibhuti Jha , President , Human Potential Project

At a recent celebration of NaMo victory, at the Hindu Temple in Queens , New York , I met with someone after a long time. He was obviously a little concerned about the presence of so many Hindus at the temple who , for the first time perhaps , felt proud being a Hindu and had great expectations from the new Government. The Hindus have so far been made to feel that they were a benign and an irrelevant majority in their own country, given the much talked about secular principles and values of which every political party other than BJP held claims to ! Since BJP was a Hindu party it couldn't potentially lay a claim to being secular despite the fact that Hinduism and Hindu practices are remarkably secular and democratic in theory and practice !! India has never led a program to extend the territory either via religious proselytization or political expansion via a war!

As the conversation moved forward about the opportunity , expectations , fear and realities , I was told "Big troubles are coming.. soon" !

It is true that NaMo win has indeed created hitherto unknown expectations and ambitions in the people of India. Perhaps rightly so. We read reports about the new work timings and ethics set by the PM himself that ministers and bureaucrats are trying hard to cope up with and adjusting to the new norms. There is so much to do and there is almost so little time , given that expectations are running wild amongst the supporters. If there was ever a real need for patience , it is now. To overhaul the practices overnight , set in place by the 60 plus years of Congress party rule , is expecting miracles to happen at your own will. That's not going to happen unless the new Ministers are able to handle the smart , intelligent bureaucrats who are designed to protect the status quo and historical lame precedence's. What India needs is a change and unshackling from its past and far beyond the games of thrones played by people who cant go beyond being " Yes Minister and/or Yes Prime Minister" !

Mr. Modi is following Mahatama Gandhi's famous statement about being the change that you want to be and bring about, in every sense of the term a work environment of service , governance and performance that we have not known before. Indian leadership needs big declarations and big actions to fulfil the promises made to the people with full awareness that incrementalism will just not work. India needs transformational practices to replace incremental behavior and practices which has become a cultural disgrace of what is called the common minimum program... translated in simple language means doing something for the namesake.

So what steps need to be taken to avoid the "big troubles" ?

One of the worlds greatest scientist , Albert Einstein said , that "any intelligent fool can complicate a simple problem, it takes a courageous one to move in the other direction" ! India , Indian leadership and the Indian people need to urgently recognize this priceless advice that no consulting company or a bureaucrat will offer. It is in the nature of creating complexity that we seek greater solutions, while in reality , the best solutions emerge when we remove the clutter and confusion that breeds inefficiency and inaction. Just as you can't lose 20 pounds of weight overnight , despite having full knowledge about how to do it, likewise to transform the current culture of mistrust , cynicism , apathy , corrupt practices which breeds mistrust in the system and process , will take time and real undoing of old practices. Habits die hard and to that end to break that strangle hold of old habits , new practices need to be put in place. Many people at the moment must be waiting for old habits to return to churn the same old again ! There are two potential areas where one can visualize big troubles emerging from. One relates to the real high expectations of a real change from a frustrated and unhappy people who voted congress out and welcomed Namo's call for growth and governance. The second relates to the communal harmony and the disease of fear factor in the being ignited in the minds of the minorities.

The newspapers are full of advices from ten point to fifteen point agendas which in essence are good directions and pointers for issues that need immediate attention by the government. But most of them point out the obvious urgency for s many things to be attended to. The need of the hour, however, is to introduce PRACTICES that changes the paradigm. For example , the country has got into a mind set of "cheapest tender lowest bid, " for every tender notification be it for civil work or whatever. Since the government has been the owner of these public projects , resource conservation has been the rationale for the "cheapest and lowest bid" . Consequently , the public works itself suffers due to lack of quality and poor performance in every sense of the term. The projects are in conditions of virtual and constant repair all the time resulting in poor outcomes, huge inconveniences for the public and waste of resources. This leads to a general malaise of quality suffering in almost all aspects of social and economic life and causes the reality that India does not produce quality products. We admire and appreciate the "quality" work done by the foreigners but never ever attempt to do it ourselves. And all this while India has the largest number of Deming Juran certified engineers in the world !! There are many more items we could talk about but I will restrict to this one single item for the moment. The essential message being to enforce quality as a means to living and dispel the concept of common minimum program which has translated into an apology for doing very little. Of course this does not mean not to do the bare essential to survive, after all stich in time saves nine ! Setting expectation is key to prevention of disappointment.

The other problem seems to be emerging out of the politically crafted fear factor that the minorities are somehow no longer "safe" in the country with a real good Hindu at the helm of leadership. This is nothing else but a canard and a farcical fear factor imposed by the British and as though only the Congress party is the protector of the minority interests. We must tell the world and everybody in India , a well known fact , that the Hindu way of life is perhaps the most democratic and pluralistic in essence and practice for all concerned. Hindus have never led a war to extend territories and never indulged in proselytization. For example , the believers in Arya Samaj do not fight with Brhama Samajis and Krishna worshippers do not claim that Krishna was better than Lord Ram in any sense of the term and vice versa. Ganesh worshippers do not quarrel or kill Durga worshippers and Kali worshippers are as non violent as Lakshmi and Saraswati worshippers ! And all of these Gods are housed and prayers are offered under a single roof in a temple most of the time. There is an undeniable move to further divide India on religious lines which is evident from the statements made by irresponsible people and incidents created by miscreants. The time is for vigilance and not vigilantism. Sanatan Dharm serves a purpose and has been relevant for ever. The world must know that and we must educate the world about how our Dharma is essentially peaceful and our process a proven example to emulate. The real challenge lies in the fact that we are, in truth , the only country where about 1.2 billion Hindus live. As a country we are truly alone ! Rest of the world is either Christian or Islamic. Therefore the world immediately reacts to any incident of minority abuse whatever it might be. While India is home to virtually every religious practice in the world , few know about it. In addition that India is only country in the world that was under the rule of minorities for the last ten years is hardly known around. We must tell the world that in the last ten years , a Sikh was the Prime Minister , a muslim and a woman were the President of the country , a Roman catholic Italian woman was the leader of the ruling party! How many countries in the world can talk about a record of this kind ? Therefore if the minorities suddenly begin to feel unsafe , it is actually their own make belief world.

Finally, the Hindus must come out and teach the world about the values and principles of Hinduism as it is today. There can't be any shame doing so , in fact it is that moment in the life of humanity to begin a conversation that God did not create religion, people did , inspired as they were by whoever. God does not ask anyone to kill other people but insecure people do kill in the name of God and that must be exposed , stopped and prevented from doing so.

By Vibhuti Jha , President , Human Potential Project (June 2014)

Support And Criticism of Dr. Harshvardhan

In Pulp Fiction, John Travolta’s character says the following: “Now look, I've given a million ladies a million foot massages, and they all meant something”. Now the promiscuous young Indians can pretend that their new found “let it all hang out” attitude with non-stop bed hopping has little more meaning than going from one bar to another, it is their prerogative. However as someone who was twenty a while ago, I would like to tell them that while sex is fun it is not something that meaningless unless you have a sociopathic streak in you. Sex outside of marriage has consequences. I dare the liberals to deny that.

The libertarian in me says that why should I care. If these youngsters want to ruin themselves then it is their problem. If they want to exchange bodily fluids and fall sick then also it is their problem. After all, we do not have socialized medicine so the Indian taxpayer does not have to pay if these promiscuous Indians can get sick with AIDS, HCV or HPV caused cancer. If these people after getting sick do remove themselves from the society and die alone then I am fine with their behavior.

However, none of these morons will ever remove themselves from circulation and spread their disease. Some innocent person will catch their disease by blood transfusion and that is the real travesty. That is when I DO CARE. Now the liberals and the “I love everything western” kind of Indians would have you believe that just wearing a condom is a panacea to all ills then they could not be more wrong. By and large condoms will prevent transmission of HIV or HCV or HPV but it is almost akin to playing Russian roulette with your sexual organ with a millimeter thick latex, prone to rupturing. Of course while having sex, these people stick to straight up intercourse then a condom offers some degree of protection. Most people use condoms to prevent pregnancies and are likely to think that performing oral sex will be fine. JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has throat cancer and has joined an increasing number of men who are getting throat cancer. The theory behind it is that these men are performing oral sex on people who are infected with HPV. My point is that despite all the so called protection that a condom provides, promiscuous behavior is replete with dangerous possibilities.

Ever since Dr. Harshvardhan came out in support of abstinence, the liberal brigade has spared no effort in mocking him. Thrice married Shashi Tharoor called him out of touch. The author of an article in Firstpost, Pallavi Polanki writes the following about the HM:

Not exactly music to India’s new Health Minister’s ears who has made no secret of his distaste for promotion of condoms and his discomfort with empowering India’s adolescents with information about responsible sexual behavior. The minister’s statements have, expectedly, been roundly criticised by experts as being irresponsible and out of step with the times.

I want to offer support and some criticism of Dr. Harshvardhan’s approach. Unlike HMs so far, he is the first physician to occupy this post. A doctor always errs on the side of caution. That is exactly what he is proposing. After all the traditional Indian way of virgins getting married and staying married till death has no down sight. It is foolproof. Fidelity is the best protection and playing Russian roulette with your penis while wearing a thin piece of latex is an extremely risky proposition at best. Dr. Harshvardhan is absolutely correct on this count. However, a chain is as strong as its weakest link. Traffic is as safe as its worst driver. A society is as safe its worst offender or the biggest idiot. To account for these morons one has to educate every child in ways of sex. In short sex education is actually very important. In fact just like showing a diseased lung or grotesque cancer patients to children to keep them from smoking sex education also has to be taught in the most stark way with all the perils (emotional and physical) of it shown in the most grotesque way. You just cannot sugarcoat it in any way. Definitely Yoga is no solution. This is where the good doctor is wrong. I know it is hard for parents to accept sex education in schools but the alternative is scary. Moreover, if the sex education in schools can scare kids into fidelity and away from promiscuous behavior then it is definitely worth it.

The liberals need to put their point forward without the sarcasm as they are wont to. I am sure that smart man that Dr. Harshvardhan is, will see their point. As far as I am concerned, I would rather listen to someone like Dr. Harshvardhan than Shashi Tharoor on matters of character and behavior. What do you think?

The Firstpost article can be read at: http://www.firstpost.com/india/reality-check-dr-harsh-vardhan-condom-use-booming-india-says-naco-1604717.html?utm_source=FP_HP_CATEGORYRANK

The New India Government: 9 Point Action Plan in the next 99 days

The following article has been written by a kindred spirit:

The much needed change in the political leadership in India is truly of gigantic proportions not only because a karma yogi , Mr Modi , is taking over the reigns of taking India in a new direction, but also because he has transformed the mood of the country and its people. India is experiencing a generative mood of ambition , pride , passion , positivity with hope and belief back in the mind sets of the people. At the same time the degenerative mood of cynicism , negativity , mistrust , doubt and frustration is on the decline. While various groups of people will go through their own emotional exuberance and depression, it is certain that the new government's plate is full. The left overs and the negative legacies of the previous government needs to be trashed and / or refurbished. Case in point is the refusal of the TN Chief Minister Jayalalitha , pampered by Congress and UPA due to coalition compulsions, to attend the swearing in ceremony because of the invitation/presence of the President of Sri Lanka. She has disrespected the office of the PM and she must account for her decision by explaining what would she have done differently in the absence of a continued dialogue and would she propose a breakdown in the relationship between the two countries ? Virtually every aspect of India , social, technology , economy and politics , needs a fresh new look and many action plans need to be put in place to put the economy and social fabric on a stronger basis. This is as much a time for bold declarations as it is for bolder actions.

Victory has many fathers and claimants, therefore it is no surprise that expectations from Mr. Modi, has reached levels hitherto unknown. He is a reformer , a doer but not a magician ! Please do not expect him to change everything with the sleigh of his hand but certainly allow his handiwork some time to have the required impact. I am not offering any excuses on his behalf but stating an obvious fact. And thus the challenges for him to manage those expectations are real , even though he will have the benefit of doubt of supporters. The detractors are only waiting to pounce on everything that goes even marginally wrong claiming their pound of flesh. As such , Mr. Modi need not fear , fear itself and act towards the launch of the national mood towards action.

For far too long , we Indians have luxuriated and indulged ourselves in the five V's of our social fabric - Vichar ( thinking) , Vimarsh ( consulting with each other) , Vishlayshan ( analysis ) , Vimochan ( dissertation ) and Vikhyan ( pontification ) ! Mr. Modi has made a different offering by connecting well with the people of India cutting across various dissensions because he proved himself to be a karm yogi - perhaps the most important teaching of Bhagwad Gita. Mr. Modi made action as his mool mantra of success.

The press , media and all the supposed big names are already putting out various six , seven or eight point agendas for doing what the government must do in almost every single ministry. Suggestions like these are also pouring in from all those who can offer one. Thanks to the power of social media it is indeed possible to do so as well. However I recall my grandfathers teaching and I almost quote him verbatim " great people did not become great because they did great things suddenly. They became great because they did those small things right over a period in time". With this in mind I am offering the 9 point action plan for the next 100 days that will be the first baby steps towards a giant leap. Every 100 days a new landmark will continue until the completion of the five year term.

9 action issues to attend to in the remaining 99 days :

1. Approve and activate minimum 9 Power projects , with at least 2 in most deprived regions of the country. Let there be light everywhere in India.

2. The cleaning of Varanasi begins NOW... ask ALL bureaucrats to set an example by picking up the broom and sweeping the streets and deposit the waste in the right place in the right bin. Announce that it is everybody's responsibility to keep their city clean. Challenge at least 9 other cities to join in the effort. Create cleaning the city as a Waste management practice and business opportunity and that there is wealth to be created doing so respecting the sanitation aspect of work rather than a menial job.

3. Issue immediate instructions that NO politician or bureaucrat will any more participate in the award ceremonies or open a sporting event. Ask HRD ministry to submit a report, within 90 days, to lay a firm ground for organizing college and school sports as it is done in US or other great sporting nations. It is a pity that sports, which respects and necessitates performance as a criterion for success, is not given enough importance due to lack of opportunity at grassroots levels.

4. Announce continuation of Mr Rajan as RBI Governor and accept RBI recommendation not to have GOI and RBI nominees on the Board of commercial banks in India. This is an epochal recommendation which will bring about accountability and responsibility in commercial banks in the way they address and attend to loans and advances and the assets that go sour. Since most of the large loans have to be approved either by a select committee for the purpose or the full board , the RBI and the Government representatives cannot absolve themselves of their responsibility if the asset becomes non - performing. Consequently significant time is spent in obfuscation to camouflage the shared responsibility and accountability suffers at the highest levels. This has a detrimental impact on the management teams from the top to the bottom. Merely adding capital is not the solution to NPAs. Currently Indian economy is saddled with huge number of NPAs and the amounts run in several lac crores. India cannot afford this waste of precious capital. Banks job is not only to sell the NPAs to a Asset Reconstruction Company for a pittance but to revive the business to preserve and enhance the value of capital. Only when we do that, the project management can become a viable option.

5. Announce the privatization of Air India to recapture the glory days of the national carrier. Even the leadership of the Pilot Association lamented about the ridiculous interferences of the bureaucracy in running down the airline. National carriers carry the national identity to all countries of the world. The world witnesses first hand the management culture of a country through the projection of its image by its performance and offerings at its airports and in the sky. I believe very few will give Air India a thumbs up on its performances. At a global seminar about ten years ago , I was asked to define what opportunity meant in the Indian context given the economic agenda. I had said that at that time the United States had over 6000 aircrafts serving the domestic and international flying needs of the American people. India, with three times the population had just about 300 plus aircrafts ! If only India began to have a comprehensive plan to build airports that would create a massive opportunity for the economy in virtually every aspect of life. Instead what the airline policy indulged in was bartering away the existing routes instead of expanding the actual potential that Indian skies offer. The Namo government ought to rescind the notification that allows all past Chairman of Air India , its families and friends a free ride for ever ! This will set an example to curb unnecessary enthusiasm of the grab what you can mentality and prevent waste of national resources.

6. Approve 9 hotel projects in and around Indian cultural heritage locations. Commit to developing domestic tourism by building up and protecting Indian heritage , cultural sites and historical monuments which in turn will lead to development of hotel and hospitality industry. Again, Indian tourists are being courted and invited to various countries all over the world. While the infrastructure facilities overseas encourage Indians to travel abroad , the cost and inconvenience of domestic travels becomes painful. We have the ability and potential to build a robust tourism industry of not only international but also domestic. India has incredible opportunities to make tourism as essential part of development process. Take the example of New York City that became a marvelous example of global tourism with excellent facilities for all class of tourists and travelers plus safety and security of visitors accorded high importance. India's cultural heritage will contribute to economic boom.

7. Mandate that all infrastructure projects be compliant with the needs of the physically challenged. Once we do this we truly implement an inclusionary practice. In addition, to make India a truly inclusive society and country, the government must shift the focus from caste based job creation to skill based occupational growth and wealth creation. India needs to have its own people creating a Nike, an Adidas and wealth creation via Waste management practices Just as Bollywood and the sports industry recognizes a talent and performance based culture , likewise it must focus on talent and skill development in all aspects of life. Giving respect to what people do is more important than the caste they are born in. Creating respect and opportunity for work is critical rather than looking down on anyone for what they do. The focus commences on redefining the caste structure. Those who are in the Government at any level be called the new Brahmins. Those who are in homeland security functions whether in armed forces to police to quasi security agencies be called the warriors or khstriya. People in trade and commerce be called the banias and finally the service providers be called the Shudras , if at all ! The skill of a person will determine the function he performs and the training and learning will contribute to that persons effectiveness on the job he does.

8. Justice delayed is justice denied - we all know that. Issue instructions to set up 9 special courts to attend to cases pending over 5 years with mandated requirements for all involved parties to be present to close and arrive a verdict within a period of 90 days. If the involved parties cannot be prepared in 5 years time , they never will be. This will unburden the courts system with files and cases that we need not waste the peoples time and resources.

9. Job creation is the compelling issue affecting the youth of the country. We all know that it is not possible to instantly create jobs overnight yet the ground work must begin now. The specific industries that will attract investments will handle the availability of suitable candidates ,but the Government can instantly provide credits and incentives to those young men and women who join the armed forces , police forces and other agencies for homeland security. The training , recognizing the value of learning and performance will impact the youth positively and inculcate a sense of belonging whereby homeland security becomes the responsibility of every citizen of the country.

There is lot to be done and expectations are running wild. India is enjoying the ride of being on the technology leap. If we convert that energy into actions , we will the reap advantages of reaching our potential. At the moment we remain an unfulfilled ambition.

http://www.nalandainternational.org/index.php/all-articles/85-article-catergories/all-articles/727-the-9-point-100-days-action-plan-for-the-new-prime-minister-by-vibhuti-jha