PM Modi US Visit

The Indian Prime Minster's present visit to US has raised many hopes in the minds of public in general, and in the process we come across many articles in the Indian media on the subject. It is assumed that the visit is seen as an attempt to attract foreign direct investments but to me it is only one sided. In fact it all started with his positive initiative, of inviting US President, Barack Obama, as the Chief Guest for this year's Republic Day and the  President's acceptance at a short notice, signalled that India and US were seeking to take relationship to a different level that had never been attempted earlier and therefore this trip of Mr Modi is being regarded as continuity.
   On home front Modi had indeed failed the test as on date, on pushing through GST and the revised Land Acquisition law, to suit domestic and foreign business interest and will need to put the matters straight whenever he interacts with the business community in US.
    Modiji organised G4 summit in New York and as expected discussed the reforms in UNSC and put forth India's views very unambiguously .
   But as contemplated India can never hope to grow only through FDIs,however the efforts made in attracting investment is equally  important because of the employment opportunities that come with it for our large labour force. Naturally the burden of labour on agriculture could be reduced if the investments create jobs in the manufacturing sector.
         Therefore while the Govt is right to pursue FDIs and information Technology but it also gives the impression that it is not giving equal importance to the other areas. He would find farmers suicides in general in both AP & TS . Bihar to which state he has promised an out of turn special assistance of Rs 1.25 lakh crores, where majority of the rural house holds do not have access to proper sanitation. In Delhi he would find a doctor of All India Institute,( AIIMS) announce on TV that Dengue is " endemic" to its population, a grave diagnosis indeed. In Rajasthan,a state run by his own party, he would find that a senior civil servant ran an extortion racket yielding four crores,rupees, thus taking the meaning of "ease of doing business " to an altogether a new level. So alighting from the flight, he is likely to be struck by the thought that while " digital India" is a worthwhile project per se, it could only be the partial answer to what needs to done, in this vast and yet the underdeveloped country .
             Whatever it is worth, Modi would top the list of most travelled Prime Ministers and has more or less, become a Non-resident PM. Hence people have some apprehensions which may be valid to some extent. Both his international trips and on domestic front the announcement of schemes are either Utopian or election centric with little relevance, to the realities on ground. Merely copying the west,or providing largesse to the states to garner votes are not going to help our country to achieve the growth the PM desires, is my view .
            It is also a fact that the challenges to India's growth and development are internal, but the focus should be on finding indigenous solutions. Weak governance, corrupt and inefficient bureaucracy, judiciary and police is the biggest impediment that is holding India back.

DISCONTINUANCE OF POSTAL STAMPS OF FORMER PMS

Few days ago I saw an editorial on the issue of withdrawal of stamps of both Rajiv& INDIRA ,followed by few news items, in different news papers and I also saw a scrolling in one of the Telugu channels on the same subject,which prompted me to share few of my thoughts on  this issue,

    We all are aware that in past few years,the Indian postal service is really failing to compete with the private courier services,in India,any amount push being exerted by Govt ,to activate it is yet to yield tangible results and  at the same time , it seems the Govt of India has decided to discontinue the stamps of both Rajiv,& INDIRA , the former PMs.,which would upset minds of some in general and congress in particular .


    Having agreed that congress is on the decline, but what I fail to understand is, why despite the upswing in political fortunes the NDA consistently stoops so low to try and erase the impression that the "FAMILY" has made on the public mind? Infact, I also read in some news papers that the Union Civil Aviation Ministry also is contemplating to rename several Airports in the country, including IndiraGandhi International Airport in this capital.In a way,renaming streets or landmarks,has now been,the BJP's back lash against the congress which named almost everything after Nehru and Gandhis.

     History could be conveniently rewritten but fact remains eternal. Assuming that Congress did some disservice by refusing to recognise any one beyond the "family" , the concerted effort by NDA2 to push its own pets, betrays a massive inferiority complex.It must be true that the congress neglected some of the national heroes during its rule.Does BJP stand to gain anything by following the wrong practices followed by its rival?The BJP can not appropriate SardarPatel,who was a congressman to the core,and was also an important Member of the first cabinet of Independent India .Whether Congress has belittled him or not,he is very widely known and respected even today.

    Therefore what I personally feel, the BJP Govt must be large hearted and open minded instead of stooping down to do the very things of which it accuses congress and the discontinuation, in my opinion, is petty minded. Infact, In democratic  country like India,who knows that The BJP will be in power,always and if some other parties come to power they may also resort to the same gimmick, which would be looked down upon.

NETAJI SUBHASH BOSE---FILES DECLASSIFICATION

The mystery about the death of the supreme commander of the Indian National Army(INA) seems to be a never ending one.I had been hearing many stories on this subject since my childhood.Now the decision of Mamata Benerjee, the CM of West Bengal,to declassify 64 files pertaining to Netaji ,has resurrected,the seven decade old controversy.An announcement by Japanese news agency,dt 24th Aug 1945 stated that " Mr Bose, the Head of the provincial Govt,of Azad Hind " left Singapore on Aug16th by Air, for talks with Japanese Govt,. He was seriously injured when his plane crashed at Taihoku Airfield,at2pm on August 18th.He was given treatment in hospital in Japan,where he died at midnight. Col.HabiburRahman,a Bose's associate had also given his personal statement about the said Air crash and Netaji's hospitalisation and demise and all of us must have heard many anecdotes over time.Some have said that he was sighted in Russia,while for others he returned to India,as SADHU,etc.and like this many such rumors are in vogue without any compelling evidence.In fact we have heard even conspiracy theories also.Recently I have read in the press,that Netaji's grand nephew wrote in his book, that even during Mr Nehru's life time"some rumour mongers hinted at foul play by Nehru himself"which acquires political undercurrents.It is a fact that even today we have been hearing that their families have been snooped even after independence and here some saw Nehru's " fear" of  their family and I feel,it may not be wise to pass judgments,unless and until,the remaining files also are declassified by Govt of India.Sometime ago I happened to read that there has been a belief,that Bose was " wronged"by Mahatma Gandhi and his supporters in 1939 and when Ganghiji refused to work with Bose as congress president citing ideological differences,the latter had to resign and fact remains that Nehru did try to broker peace between GANDHI ji and Bose.

        It is a fact that history will record that Mr Bose was a man of an indescribable mystique--- a nationalist who sought absolute freedom from British,who first uttered inspirational words " JaiHind",a liberal who wanted women to empowered and yet supported the naked racism of Hitler's Germany,and expansionism of inspirational Japan,a freedom fighter who waged war against,his own country,in his attempt,to get rid of its occupier,a congress loyalist,who fought with Mahatmaji,for unqualified " Swaraj" and a characteristic leader who built Azad Movement.

         The news that he was leading the life of a mystique in the last days had been prevalent even before his final mysterious disappearance.This Infact gives credence to the theory that Netaji was alive even after 1945 and therefore ,few questions also arose as to why he didn't come out,from underground after independence ? Did such a dare devil become so timid,as to roam incognito,and die unsung and unhonoured?Now it appears that earlier enough was not done to trace him.But if one recalls,the ForwardBloc,founded by Netaji,was also a partner in the Govts more than once.Why did it too fail to impress upon,the Govts to declassify the papers/ files.? Anyhow now Miss MamtaBenerjee has shown the way as Netaji' was a Bengali icon,the same way that SardarPatel--who the NDA dispensation is trying to use to displace Nehru,- was a Gujarati icon.It is now everybody's right to know about the last days of Bose,whose memories we hold in high esteem and therefore, to this extent  what Mamtaji did , is good,whether or not she did it for political motives. The hint by central ministers that the issue involves" our relations with other countries" makes it more serious and all the more essential to let the cat out of the bag, sooner than later,as suppression of facts shall not be among our words of display,and it is not too late for others to grab a portion of credit.The master stroke of Mamtaji has put the BJP under pressure and may therefore try to emulate her before the state goes to polls in 2016

To the brink and back – India’s 1991 Story

Fortnight ago my brother Venugopal, who is into active politics, presently an AICC member and General Secretary and chairman Protocal APCC,when he went to Delhi Jai Ram Ramesh gave him a book  written by him called 'To The Brink and Back- India's 1991 story'  which hit stands on 30/8/15. I was eager to read it as before its release some of its excerpts were released to the press, which piqued my curiosity.
   Jai Ram Ramesh, 60, hails from Chikmaglur of Karnataka, is an MP Rajya Sabha from AP. He is considered an intellectual and knows nitty gritties of Congress and it's first family. He academic qualifications include IITian from Mumbai, MS from Carnegie Mellon University, a graduate from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a former union minister.  He is an Economist par excellence, now a politician and senior leader in Congress,having joined World Bank and inducted into Planning Commission by Manmohan Singh, along with other bureaucrats Rakesh Mohan and Anil Virmani. And also these three joined PMO when P.V.Narasimha Rao took over the reigns.
    At the out set, I would recommend everyone to read it once to know the inside account of the story and first 100 days of PV as PM of India. The language, is very lucid and makes the reader inquistive. It had created a buzz for many reasons. In one of the interviews Jai Ram Ramesh, having said that many eyebrows would be raised since he praised PV in this book. He said that three main reasons for releasing this book now is because one, we are approaching the 25th anniversary of the economic reforms of 1991, which is an occasion to look back, secondly full and insider pespection of how the economic reforms process unraveled as there was no inside account. Thirdly after 2014, Lok Sabha defeat Jai Ram had lot of time at his disposal to be intellectually busy. He further clarified that there is nothing oral in this book, everything is based on written evidence. 
      Jai Ram seems to be a principled guy, who does not speak on behalf of Congress unless he is authorised to do so. Therefore he says in the interview, he is not reflecting the party's views. But once to put the records straight so that  P. V could be portrayed in a new light and unearths hidden aspects of his personality. The manner in which he ran the government during these crucial days etc. 
   Jai Ram says PV is a master tactician for a "fox" who was "magnificent" in crisis management. In the first 100 days of 1991, when India was starting at balance of payments crisis- led economic disaster he was compared to india's Den Xiaoping, a Chinese communist leader who initiated reforms in China. It is said in the book that over June, July, August 1991 Rao demonstrated that he wasn't unlike the general perception about him at all indeciesiveness. 
 "To borrow an anology from Isaiah, Berlin, if Manmohan Singh was the hedgehog who knows only one big thing and that is economic reforms, which Rao was the "fox" who knows many things. It is the "fox-hedgehog combine that rescued India in perhaps it's darkest moment. " 

   It is said that PV used to say- doing a u-turn without it seeming to be a u-turn, is an art, and narrated a small incident, " Political packaging was essential in getting industrial reforms through. The cabinet rejected it, yet four days later, the cabinet approved it- what was different was, the political and historical contexts. The policy text into the cabinet note was same, but we added a preamble on how previous policies were leading to this. The last words were " These reforms are continuity with change." The author of this preamble was none other than Jai Ram himself.

   As we all know PV confronted huge challenges and was simply magnificent. Manmohan Singh said repeatedly that he would have achieved nothing without Rao's backing and this aspect has been very clearly described in this book. He deserved a high place in economic history for challenging IMF approval, a painful austerity and focusing instead in a few key challenges that produced fast growth with minimum pain. 20 years after the start of Indian economic miracle, let us remember India's most undeterred prime minister- Narasimha Rao. 
  Here again, I totally appreciate KCR and his government for recommending his name for Bharat Ratna which he richly deserves. Let us him best and hope that Modi and his government would certainly consider it favourably. 

AGITATION FOR RESERVATIONS IN GUJARAT

     The agitation by Patel's community of Gujarat demanding OBCS status and quotas in jobs and educational institutions is yet another instance of how the whole business of affirmative actions has become counter productive. And police action has caused extensive violence claiming many lives. BJP leaders of Patel community were specially targeted by mobs. Patel's control the state, BJP and CM too is from this group. If you recall, when Solanki was CM, 27 percent reservations were introduced for OBCs in the year 1985 and it was same Patel's who unleashed a fierce anti reservation stir and shifted their loyalities from Congress to BJP, leading the party's ascent in the state. It now looks like the wheel has come full circle.
  Infact it is debatable whether Hardik Patel's massive rally was spontaneous or orchestrated. However he has done a yeoman service by rekindling the reservation issue. Though Patel's in urban Gujrat are known to be well off, but one cannot say the same about their rural counter parts. India is struggling as country to shed the backward tag and join the ranks of developed nations. When our citizens under garb of reservations would like to join these ranks to obtain coveted Govt posts, that give them access to power and influence.The preference for casts and sub casts for employment in public sector paved the way for demands for certain communities. The entitlements to jobs based on caste don't create an egalitarian society while it is utopian to expect the quota system to end. It is a moot point whether the protests will bear fruit or spiral out of control.
    As per Prabhu Chawla 's recent article, it is evident that Hardik Patel with the help of rich and powerful Patel community, has shot himself into limelight using the reservation gun. Many politicians continue to use the caste route to further their personal agenda rather than national development.
      As all of us know the reservations were envisaged as a social justice mechanism to mitigate the age old caste based discrimination and oppression. But the agitation being spearheaded by 22 year old Hardik Patel has reduced the idea of affirmative action to a farce. This group dominates the diamond and textile industry and milk cooperatives. Reservations would normally entail excluding Brahmins and other sections of traditional upper castes from getting benefitted by caste based reservations for educational and employment opportunities .The system would be hard pressed to include the Patel's or Patidars into OBCs category so that they may qualify  for state support. Doing so would make mockery of the very purpose of affirmative action in the frame work of Indian Reservation system.
     Now a days reservation has become main agenda for any community irrespective of its economic standing. Infact the policy should only be for those who really deserve it. In recent past, it has become common to find the majority even economically and politically powerful sections demanding reservations
    The need of the hour therefore, is for total annihilation of caste based reservations and it should be solely on economic basis. In general regressive policy reservations should be slowly extinguished as it mars the quality and merit. But can we expect our political leaders to do this?