SPS Rathore gives it back..this time to the Media !

I, like many others have been following the Ruchika Girhotra case on TV. Like it does to all things the Television media perhaps stepped on the gas a little too much.

Today, SPS Rathore - the former Haryana DGP who supposedly got away easily after abetting Ruchika to suicide shot back at the media. The legality of the case aside, I was thrilled to hear Rathore's remark to the preying media and wanted to record it here:

“The day you can satisfy me that you are the constitutional power to decide on these judicial matters I will speak”

I sympathize with this observation that the media in India -itself victimized by the TRP race - is overstepping a little too often. Its time perhaps the media learns a lesson or two and understands its role as the watchdog of the constitutional systems. What say??? 

Waking up, are we ?

I sometimes get the feeling that we in India are living in very important times. Not just because of our new found place as an emerging global power. More because of the way we are evolving as a society! As a society that can think, speak, discuss, debate and decide. Two major happenings of the recent past stand testimony.

• Article 377 - The fact that there was enough gut among us to discuss this on Live TV in a supposedly conservative society itself so amazes me. I would not vouch for the quality of the debate that often happens on TV but I though few NDTV debates were pretty fair and can form an important instrument in framing public opinion.
• Jaswant Singh's book on Jinnah and partition - I am particularly happy for the nation-wide debate the book will stir (or has already stirred, perhaps!). That someone, after Advani's Jinnah episode, will have the gumption to touch a soft subject like the partition and thereby kick-start a debate underscores the fact that our society is emerging into a truly pluralistic one. Not a pluralism that is defined by the multitudes of religions and cultures that exist here -facets that are more imposed on us than chosen, but a pluralism that is defined by our ideas and views that evolve with our experience and learning.

What say???

Sudha Murty's Discovery of the Indian Spirit

The current post is about a book that I am currently reading. Few books have excited me like this one, excitement enough for me to recommend the book to others - this post is an instrument to that end.

The Old Man & His God by Sudha Murthy is the book I am currently reading. The most striking thing of this book is its simplicity. Simplicity of language aside, I think it is the simplicity with which the free human spirit has been captured and presented that has caught my imagination.

Sudha Murthy is well known for the work of the Infosys Foundation that she runs. In the course of her work with the needy mostly in rural India, she encounters some really fascinating dimensions of the human spirit. The Old Man & His God is a collection of the author's encounters with the complexities of human nature - some rare virtues, some common misgivings and some strange anomalies. There are also accounts of her interaciton with her students, friends and associates - encompassing a complete spectrum of the Indian society.

Not that all the accounts described are truly astonishing. Some of them are pretty commonplace except that we normally don't tend to capture those defining insights from the happenings around us.

True to the caption Discovering the Spirit of India, this book does discover the spirit of the Indian society and takes the reader through an enriching journey - one that matures him to an elevated pedestal from where understanding human psyche becomes more easy and enjoyable.

I Swear! - My dream Cabinet

The combination is out in the open. The next Government will have a strength of 274 in the Lower House with the RJD (4), SP (23), BSP(21) supporting from outside. Thankfully with the Cong at 206, the only allies that can extract their pound of flech would be the TC (19) and DMK (18). 

With the appointment letter firmly in Manmohan Singh's pocket, the next major step in the Government formation would be the appointment of the Council of Ministers and the swearing in ceremony. Hence this post, compiling my dream Union Cabinet. 

• Prime Minister: Dr. Manmohan Singh
• Home Minister: P Chidambaram
  
• Finance Minister: Dr. C Rangarajan (former RBI Governor)* 
• External Affairs Minister: Pranab Mukherjee
  
• Defence Minister:  AK Anthony
• Petroleum & Energy: Murli Deora
  
• IT & Telecom: Dayanidhi Maran
  
• Rural/ Panchayati Raj: Rahul Gandhi**
• Civil Aviation: Praful Patel
  
• Food & Agriculture: Sharad Pawar
• Law Minister: HR Bharadwaj
  
• Commerce & Industry (including Steel): Kamal Nath
  
• Minorities: Farooq Abdullah
• Urban Development: Shashi Tharoor
• Parliamentary Affairs: Priyaranjan Dasmunshi
• Power Ministry: Sushil Kumar Shinde
• Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises: Mani Shankar Aiyar
• Sports: MS Gill
• Tourism & Culture: Ambika Soni
• Human Resource: Kapil Sibal
  
• Railways: Trinamool Congress' Nominee
• Environment & Forests: Trinamool Congress' Nominee
  
• Science and Technology: DMK Nominee
• Shipping: DMK Nominee
  

The swearing-in ceremony is to be held in 2 days. Till then, its fingers crossed! 

* I'd prefer Dr. Rangarajan ahead of Montek Ahluwalia, who I think is cut out for the Planning Commission, which I deem is a larger role. 

**Somebody strong is essential to ensure justice done to rural development. Who else can be stronger in the Congress set-up? 

Post poll reality

On hindsight, my previous post about the AP post-poll scenario was needless. A few observations:

• Eight cabinet ministers of the incumbent government lost.
• Most filmstars and people from the film industry  including Chiranjeevi (who lost from one of the two constituencies he contested) lost. 
• Politics of polarization still work! 

The most obvious inferences from the result are: 

• The allegations of mass corruption and high-handed behavior of the ministers in the YSR cabinet are not baseless. 
• Schemes like the Aarogyasri, free electricity, Rs. 2 per Kg rice though populist work. Needless to say, the opposition manifesto and poll promises were more populist. The 'gullible' voter has perhaps learnt to decipher the difference between greed and need!
• Filmy glamour could possibly set the box-office on fire but certainly not the poll booths. 
• Politics of polarization is a game not just of the right wing BJP. YSR's hate speech against the Telangana cause in Nandyala was perhaps the baap of all polarizations witnessed in the history of AP. The result is visible. I rest my case. 
  

Agenda for the New Central Government

Though the battle was bitter, the result was decisive. The decisive mandate also gives the expectedly pro-reformist Government the enormous benefit of not having bitter alliance partners. 

The recession being a global phenomenon, the remedy is not going to be home made. Therefore apart from some short term stimulus, the major focus should be on ensuring long term sustainable growth. The past 5 years have seen some exceptional schemes like the RTI, Nuclear deal, National Rural Health Mission and NREGA. Now with the left on the wrong side of the Government and going by the PM's natural inclination, the banking and economic reforms would surely receive a kick-start. This would have been no different even if a BJP-led NDA had come to power. The BJP is a religious right wing and not a ecomonic right wing party. 

Where I think this Government should try make a difference would be in areas of Governance and Infrastructure development - traditionally the banes of most Congress governments. 

I deem a focus on the following parameters as essential for the success of this Government. On the governance front: 

• Police Reforms - To make the police department an effective deterrant to criminals 
• CBI reforms - To move the agency from the clutches of the Central Govt and make it truely independent. 

• Judicial Reforms - No more justice denied or justice delayed
• Administrative reforms - Make the bureacracy more accountable
• Strengthen Lok Ayukta and ACB 

With a conscientious PM at the help, this is perhaps the best time for these reforms to come about. On the infrastructure front: 

• Another round of power sector refroms - with a view on clean power. Achieve 'Power for all by 2012'
  
• Renewed focus on Highways and upgrading the road network; connecting all villages
• Keep up the momentum on freight corridors and speed trains 

Needless to say, the absence of the Left should not pre-empt reckless reforms. 'Conscience keeping' needs to be an important trait ingrained into all aspects of governance and development. 

The excitement of Election 2009

Like the last time, AP went to polls at the same time as the Centre. I was quite vocal about my support for the BJP+ at the centre and for the TDP+ at state. Enter Chiranjeevi,  I was more drawn towards the contest at the state level. Hence this blog. 

The results so far are very interestingly poised.Photo Finish is what the media has been calling it. Of the 294 seats: 

Congress leads in 140; TDP leads in 124; PRP leads in 16; TRS leads in 10; Left leads in 4 and others (including the Majlis): 10

So much of numbers don't make the picture any better, they only seem to make it more interesting. The options that exist for Government formation include:  

• Either the Cong+ (including the Majlis) or TDP+ (including the Left, TRS) attain a majority.
• Both the fronts fall short of an absolute majority and take support from PRP which is the only single sizeable chunk outside the two major fronts. In which case Chiru can demand more than his pound of flesh. The demands could range anywhere from making him the CM for a portion of the Assembly's tenure to a big portfolios in the cabinet. 

Any reasonable analysis of the post-poll scenario will have to focus on case 2, since the occurance of case 1 would dismiss the need for an analysis. Which way Chiru goes is essentially the crucial factor! Reasons that Chiru would factor in before making the choice are:

• The presence of ex-TDP stalwarts in the PRP may tend to repel it from any proximity to the TDP. 
  
• The traditional rivalry between the vote-bank of the PRP (Kapu community) and TDP (Kamma community). The fact that the Kapus and other BCs form a significant chunk of the population in the state might tempt Chiru to retain the vote bank and move away from the TDP+. Hurting this vote bank could mar his future prospects. 
• In a way, any vote that has not gone for the Cong+, can be interpreted as a vote against the incumbent Govt. Extrapolating this logic, the PRP cannot support the incumbent Govt. since it would against the people's will. 

What remains to be seen is whether Chiru goes on to retain the vote bank or if he goes with the people's will. 

Lessons in Optimization

Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo re

 

It is just so fascinating to see how much of a change has happened in SRK's stance vis-a-vis life and philosophy.

Pre IPL it was all about 'I am the best' and 'Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo' kindda attitude.

Mid way through the series the optimisim and go getter spirit has all transformed into pontificating about what one needs to learn from sport et al. He recently said, 'Sports teach us how to lose and not to be losers'.  

If someone as successful as him can actually be so humbled by a failure in a certain field which surely isn't his forte, I am humbled by how much more a humbling phenomenon life can be to lesser mortals. 

Intricate, delicately balanced and uniquely humbling, Life is BooOtYpHuL!!! Aint it?? 

 

Sache ko chuno, Ache ko chuno

The Business of IPL II

Our Home Minister P Chidambaram recently called the IPL a shrewd combination of cricket and business. Politics or no politics, the bottomline surely is that the tourney has moved not just out of the country but to an another continent alltogether. 

Looking at the business part of it, I think few business have such flexibilty to move the field of action with such impunity like the IPL. Perhaps the high stakes involved demanded that the event be organized. But at what cost, remains to be seen. The main sources of revenue for any sporting event remain the ticket sales, on-ground sponsorships and telecast rights. 

• Ticket Sales: South Africa surely is a sport loving country. Unfortunately Cricket does not enjoy the same popularity in SA as in India. Rugby and Football are the country's most popular sports. Cricket comes a close third. Therefore, the attendance at the stadiums is surely going to be an issue. Another factor that could eat in to the ticket sales pie is is the match timings which are alligned to suit viewers in India. (An IST 4pm start would mean that the match starts soon after noon in SA.) It remains to be seen how much Lalit Modi's recently announced cheaper tickets initiative can help drawing crowds.  
• On-ground advertising: The ongoing India-New Zealand series has a a sizeable chunk of on-ground adertising from Indian corporate like CEAT and IndianOil. Ditto during India's recent Sri Lanka tour. This only shows how much of the Cricketing economy is dependant on India. Hence, in a recession hit scenario the on-ground advertising revenue from local South African corporate is also likely to go for a toss. Even regular sponsors would turn hard bargainers. 
• Telecast rights: This revenue channel looks the sole saviour for this year's tourney. With the new deal signed by the BCCI for a better price, the telecast money could perhaps off-set the impending loss from the other channels atleast to a certain extent. This essentially tells us how much technology has revolutionized not just conventional businees but also the emerging business of IPL. The flexibility that technology brings is amazing, quite literally!!

Adding to the already gloomy picture is cost escalation for the BCCI that has agreed to cover the additional costs of the franchisees that would result from the sudden shift of location. Surely, BCCI and its franchisees are not heading for positive cash flows this season.