Commentaries On The Cacophony Around Me

Rebutting Mr. Mehrotra

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Sun, 03 Jul 2011 06:38:00 +0000

"The common strain that binds together the attitudes and ideas which I call anti-intellectual is a resentment and suspicion of the life of the mind and of those who are considered to represent it; and a disposition constantly to minimise the value of that life."

Richard Hofstadter in Anti-Intellectualism in American Life

Mr. Mehrotra presents a confused and weak argument in this morning's Mail Today in his column, "Don't be afraid of intellectuals." To begin with, it is unclear what exactly is his biggest argument. He flits around, delivering a few paragraphs to a multitude of issues, none of them particularly convincing. He attempts to thread them together with a polemic against his perceived anti-intellectualism of the Indian masses. Here I want to point out the glaring randomness of the article and question some of his basic arguments.

He begins by giving mention to the stratospheric cut-offs for admissions to Delhi University this year. He says this reminds him of his college days. If he means to say they merely stimulated nostalgia for his college days, I can buy that. He goes into some detail, telling the reader that he went to St. Stephen's to study Philosophy. Things were different then, life was not a rat race, at any rate, the Philosophy department was not. He continues to then extol the virtues of the Philosophy department of his day. This doesn't really serve his broader argument. It might make himself feel better about his life decisions, but it doesn't help his case. Sadly for him, little else that follows does.

His unnecessary defense of 1980 Stephenian Philosophy continues. "And occasionally, we would have a Physics Honours student sitting in... By the end of the year he would have dropped out of Physics and joined the philosophy course." Once again, completely tangential to the broader point but inconclusive of itself. Pardon me for being either cynical or acceptably skeptical, it is likely (far from certain of course) that the writer's friend realised he did not have the quantitative aptitude for Physics. I know some will throw the philo-involves-logic argument but I'm sorry, it's a matter of degree, and at the undergraduate level, it would be silly to compare the mathematical challenge of the two courses.

Mr. Mehrotra's autobiography continues, "I went to Oxford to do more Philosophy.." This is where the real deal begins.

He talks about how his friends were horrified that being given a chance to do PPE at Balliol, he dropped the E-Economics which would have been a ticket to high paying finance oriented job. The author takes exception to this, "for the Indian student, education is only a stepping stone to a job." Why is this a bad thing? I can think of several benefits that come from thinking like this. It helps keep education in it's rightful place in a society, a service meant to enhance human capital. It prevents situations like the one in the US where the price signal goes to hell when it comes to education and students graduate with a quarter of a million dollars of debt. It's delusional to think a country like ours, with a level of income that it has, would be thinking of education in such post-subsistence terms. Musing Plato's cave simile is undoubtedly entertaining, even stimulating for many people (including myself at times) but you simply cannot denigrate a mentality that sees education as a tool for enhancing vocational and earning capacity. I find it horrifying that Mr. Mehrotra found it horrifying that his friends thought it was horrifying that he didn't want to study Economics. This is not my interest in Economics speaking, it is my disdain for ivory-tower academia speaking.

Mr. Mehrotra also speaks about the different attitude towards the study of Philosophy in the West. "Philosophy is a central subject there..." This is again only because Philosophy can afford to be a central subject there. I'm actually not even sure this is a good thing. England, and yes, specifically Oxbridge's obsession with the study of Greek and Roman Classics and Philosophy ruined the nation's competitive advantage with respect to American in the early 20th century. While Rockefeller and Carnegie were hiring engineers to smelt steel across the Atlantic, the best and the brightest in London were mugging Latin to find spots in Whitehall because that was the standard of aspiration that had developed. Sanskrit is a fine language and the Ramayana and Mahabharata are astounding epics but do we really want bright young Indians aspiring to be scholars of these subjects rather than want to get into engineering colleges. You can call me narrow minded, it is a very easy retort, but I maintain that India today needs more graduates of the latter rather than scholars of the former. I'm not saying these departments should be abolished or should be perceptibly understaffed or underfunded but we have to choose our guns or butter and it is a question of priorities.

More fundamentally, this argument of his is based on the false assumption that the desire to study disciplines like Physics or Computer Science at the expense of Philosophy is somehow anti-intellectual. Talking about inter-disciplinary course like Math and Philosophy, Physics and Philosophy and Music and Philosophy, he says, "The brightest did these courses. The Indians, of course, stayed away from such bewildering combinations, preferring to do straight maths of physics." First, it is an incorrect and somewhat offensive (to some) to define bright and Indian as two mutually exclusive categories . But this is a minor point, discard it if you want. Where does the writer get evidence for his first claim? How can he claim that the brightest went for the inter-disciplinary courses? What a loss it has been to the human race that Stephen Hawking chose to specialize in Physics at Oxford rather than Physics and Philosophy. Ah, that anti-intellectual Hawking.

Going a little further back in history, we also see that many philosophers that the author would idolise, drew their inspiration from what they knew about the natural world. Often, in fact, to explain what they didn't know about it. Hobbes, for instance, was profoundly impacted by Newton's enunciations. You might reasonably tell me that this is precisely the kind of learning the multi-disciplinary course seek to foster but that would be falling for the author's misguided argument. I'm not arguing that the study of pure Physics is unquestionably superior to Philosophy or a combination of the two (yes, in a certain material context, one can be more useful economically but whether that makes x superior over y is another debate) because that would be arguing in the mould of the author. I argue very simply that to elevate philosophy to a lofty standard of intellectualism and denigrate those seeking skills to make them useful, materially productive members of society is wrong.

110001

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Sat, 02 Jul 2011 07:26:00 +0000

Connaught Place Inner Circle at night

Defending Jairam Ramesh

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Wed, 25 May 2011 08:55:00 +0000

I'd like to begin by requesting the minuscule readership this post may attract to not respond with ad hominem attacks.

Jairam Ramesh, in his comments on education and research at the IITs and IIMs might have been blunt, but he does not deserve the violent criticism he is receiving for them. For reference and quotations, I'm going to use the article on the topic on the front page of today's Hindustan Times.

First off, rather obviously, the response of the opposition BJP need to be rubbished. It would be wrong for me to assert this unwarranted criticism stems from anything unique in that political party. I'm quite confident the Congress would have done the same had they been in that position. Still, BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy's comment, that “we cannot have world class institutions till we have world class ministers.” I'm probably exerting an excessive amount of effort dissecting stock political spin but right away, this comment implies that the BJP concedes the principle. Rudy basically admits that there is something wrong with these educational institutes by not denying that claim, choosing instead to make what he undoubtedly thought was a cleverly framed retort. Second, what exactly defines a world class minister? Ramesh happens to be an IIT graduate. Obviously not all IIT graduates are stellar, that would be stereotyping, albeit of the positive type. Ramesh could easily be an example of everything that an IIT graduate should not be, but somehow, even though he is not perfect in any sense of the word, I find that very hard to believe. The onus is on Rudy to clarify what he is insinuating exactly.

Second, the comment from the junior Science and Technology Minister Ashwini Kumar was also fallacious. He begins with an appeal to authority, “I am better equipped to comment on the scientific capabilities of the private sector...” Alright then. Even if that is true, he is not in a position to comment on the condition of the IIMs. Even if he is, his criticism of Ramesh is incorrect, “I don't agree with the approach of decrying the IITs and IIMs lock, stock and barrel.” That is not what Ramesh did. He said that there is “hardly any worthwhile research from IITs.” The statement is rhetorically impactful, as I said previously, Ramesh probably made a mistake as far as bluntness goes. However, it is not factually incorrect. Moreover, look at it carefully, strip it of the dramatic impact (created to a large extent by the owner of the voice- a supposedly 'problematic' Union Minister who repeatedly has run-ins with the powers-that-be, who is known for shooting from the mouth etc.) and it looks tamer. Crucially, it is not a blanket statement, 'hardly' is a rather obvious qualifier. But then Ramesh also goes on to say that the students make both the IITs and the IIMs world-class. He seems to be saying that these students who work extremely hard, are extremely bright, are simply not getting their share of the bargain. There is no lock, stock and barrel condemnation of Indian higher education. If anything, Kumar's claim is a blanket censure of a thoughtful Minister.

Last, I want to address the comments coming from an understandably stung faculty. The point made by Professor A Sen, a former Dean of IIM-Calcutta is not invalid. These institutions get nowhere close to the money they need to be churning out the kind of research and intellectual capital that the Environment minister wants. However, that has never been disputed by Ramesh. If anything, it has brought into the spotlight the need for this enhanced spending. Prof. Sen should be thankful to Jairam Ramesh.

Ithaka, by Constantine Cavafy

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Sun, 15 May 2011 03:41:00 +0000

When you set sail for Ithaca,

wish for the road to be long,

full of adventures, full of knowledge.

The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,

an angry Poseidon -- do not fear.

You will never find such on your path,

if your thoughts remain lofty, and your spirit

and body are touched by a fine emotion.

The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,

a savage Poseidon you will not encounter,

if you do not carry them within your spirit,

if your spirit does not place them before you.

Wish for the road to be long.

Many the summer mornings to be which with

pleasure, with joy

you will enter ports seen for the first time;

stop at Phoenician markets,

and purchase the fine goods,

nacre and coral, amber and ebony,

and exquisite perfumes of all sorts,

the most delicate fragances you can find,

to many Egyptian cities you must go,

to learn and learn from the cultivated.

Always keep Ithaca in your mind.

To arrive there is your final destination.

But do not hurry the voyage at all.

It is better for it to last many years,

and when old to rest in the island,

rich with all you have gained on the way,

not expecting Ithaca to offer you wealth.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful journey.

Without her you would not have set out on the road.

Nothing more has she got to give you.

And if you find her threadbare, Ithaca has not deceived you.

Wise as you have become, with so much experience,

you must already have understood what Ithacas mean.

The Future of the Bengal Tiger

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 16:51:00 +0000

I had the tremendous fortune of being at the Nehru Memorial Auditorium in New Delhi for the better part of today. I haven't, in a very long time, been so inspired and intellectually stimulated in a symposium. There were writers, journalists, scientists, Supreme Court lawyers, government servants and members of our Armed Forces, all in one room with the sole mission of giving my generation a fighting chance to prevent our planet from falling off a precipice.

I met an absolutely fascinating thirteen year old. His name is Madhav Subramaniam and he's been raising money for tigers for several years. When you're thirteen, 'several years' is a very big deal. Do check this out.

I also saw a video put together by Sanctuary Asia, an evocative set of images set to Roger Whittaker's "Why?" I'm pretty certain most of you haven't heard of this song but I strongly recommend looking it up. It was written in 1971, forty years ago, and the lyrics show remarkable foresight. Global warming, deforestation, desertification, biodiversity loss and even the Gulf of Mexico oil spill can be retrospectively alluded to.

I've been to many tiger consultations, seminars, lectures and the like before but there was some thing different today. Whether it was conservationists actually developing a consensus for the first time instead of egotistically sparring, whether it was the fact that almost every speech was brilliant or whether it was the fact that our Minister for Environment and Forests, probably the first one to command so much respect from all of us, came and addressed us at length, it felt as if things were falling into place.

I leave for Cornell in less than a week. After today, I almost regret I won't be working for tigers, in India, at such an exciting time. After today, however, I also realise that I'm in for life and no matter where I'm physically located, panthera tigris tigris shall always be in some nook at the back of my mind.

Olympian Delusions

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 14:21:00 +0000

At a recent public event, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit announced that New Delhi was now ready to host the Olympics. She said that although she was still a little "nervous" about the Commonwealth Games, the manner in which physical and administrative infrastructure had come up over the last few years made her confident about Delhi hosting the Summer Olympics.

The saga of Delhi's Commonwealth Games preparation has been a dramatic and very long roller coaster ride. After winning the bid six years ago amid widespread celebration and enthusiasm, the project moved into one roadblock after another. Among the many issues that cropped up, there was opposition to the site of the Games Village on environmental grounds. I had two years ago written a short blog post on the issue supporting the movement against the Village and I stand by it. Building a Commonwealth Games Village on the banks of a river like the Yamuna wasn't a smart thing to do. Building on a riverbed is not an ecologically sound idea in most places. The bed not only serves as a crucial catchment area for the river but also serves as a shield to surrounding areas when water levels rise during the rains. In Delhi, the monsoon is notoriously temperamental and while water levels can fall dramatically in the summer, water levels rise equally dramatically and more dangerously during the monsoon. The Supreme Court, however, quashed the opposition and construction continued.

Aside from this source of opposition, the projects that were initiated for the Games moved at a snail's pace. The construction of stadia, parking facilities and flyovers that was begun with tremendous fanfare ran into cost and time overruns. The situation got so bad that there was talk a year ago of the Games moving to Melbourne.

New Delhi is not ready to host the Olympics. Ms. Dikshit's statement was hands-down the most bizarre item that graced the front pages of today's newspapers.

That we have succeeded in keeping the Games with us is not an achievement, no matter what you think Ms. Dikshit. That we have hurriedly built up so much infrastructure under the threat of making half built stadia, incomplete parking lots and random pillars with no tarmac on them, obsolete, is not an achievement. There are cost overruns that have to be explained, there are delays that need to be accounted for, we cannot think of hosting the Olympics before all that is done. One illuminating fact; the Commonwealth Games have cost New Delhi 1500% of what they were expected to cost. The exchequer's condition is so bad that beer bottles have been made ten rupees more expensive to try and bridge the gap.

These Games were projected to be a facelift for the parts of Delhi across the Yamuna. In the manner that the Asian Games of 1980 served as a catalyst for developing South Delhi, the Commonwealth Games were meant to serve as a springboard for the improvement of East Delhi. This hasn't happened. The Yamuna continues to be black, dotted with methane bubbles emerging from decomposing feces. On crossing the DND Expressway, one is greeted by the stench of Hydrogen Sulphide (or so I infer from the smell and tenth grade chemistry-rotting eggs) that continues to hang heavy in the air in most areas of Noida and Mayur Vihar. The sights and smells that the athletes will be greeted with every morning and evening, when they commute between the Village and the stadia will not be pretty, to say the least. This brings me to my next point; these Games were meant to improve the parts of the City where the Village has come up. Most of the sporting venues continue to be in South and Central Delhi. Talkatora will host swimming and table tennis, the Jawaharlal Nehru stadium will host the opening ceremony, and other facilities are in the many colleges of the University of Delhi where students are being terribly inconvenienced for them. One may argue that this is actually a wonderful concept. It can be said that this will improve facilities in the colleges where students can take advantage of world-class infrastructure after the Games. The argument doesn't hold. Let me give an example; the pitch at the St. Stephen's College in North Campus is being readied for Rugby. Can you actually believe that nineteen and twenty year olds are going to benefit from a rugby pitch in a non-rugby playing country? Some may then say that children from surrounding localities can come and learn rugby. A solitary field in one corner of the city is not going to bring about a rugby revolution. The simplest way to get children to play anything, including rugby, is to create parks free from dog-walkers, unnecessary flower beds, footpaths and people complaining about stray tennis, cricket, soccer and yes, rugby balls interrupting their walks. The only beneficiaries here are Emaar-MGF, builders of the Commonwealth Games Village, who will sell each flat at an exorbitant rate after the Games are over (I also hear that apparently in the bid, these flats were meant to be given to Delhi University students after the Games).

The one argument in favour of the Games, and one that could perhaps be used to support the argument for bidding for the Olympics, is that for the first time, Delhi has learnt how to execute such a large number of varied projects by a set deadline. Yes, the planning was bad, the procrastination, delays, corruption and risk of international humiliation was avoidable but, at the end, most things will be ready by October. We have learnt something about project execution and implementation. However, that doesn't mean we bid for the Olympics. We have a massive debt that needs to be cleared before another spending spree can be embarked upon. Most importantly however, we now need to see if we can maintain this infrastructure. We need to see if the stadia can save themselves from degeneration, if the Village can save itself from the wrath of the river. And before we develop the audacity to ask for the Olympic flame, we absolutely must clean the river that flows by the Village.

For Delhi, the time is not to aim for Stronger, Faster, Higher, but Cleaner, Less Indebted, Better Maintained.

Red Soil

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Thu, 08 Apr 2010 16:53:00 +0000

Last Monday, 76 soldiers of the Central Reserve Police Force were butchered by Maoist guerrillas in the Dantewada district of Chattisgarh. There is nothing that can take away from the enormity of this tragedy. While the exact number of Maoists involved in the massacre remains open to debate, whether it was 200 or a 1000, either figure raises difficult questions. However, before I delve into the very many questions the incident raised and the issues we now have to confront, let me say a humble thank you to all those men and women involved in getting rid of these butchers, and pay, in all humility, a tribute to the 76 men who were killed under such terrifying circumstances on Monday morning. All the debates that take place on TV, all the tweets and blog posts, all arguments behind closed doors, in the halls of New Delhi, are put to shame by the dedication of the poorly paid, poorly equipped, yet miraculously valiant security forces.

Home Minister Chidambaram Offering to Resign

News channels are, as I write this piece, breaking the story that Home Minister P. Chidambaram wrote two letters, one to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the other to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, explaining his version of events, accepting full responsibility, saying unequivocally, "The buck stops at my desk... I accept full responsibility for what happened in Dantewada."

He must not resign; as West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee said a little while ago, "This is not the time to blame... This is a time to work together." I don't agree with him on most things, but for once I think he's bang on the target. Not many Home Ministers would offer such unequivocal apologies, Mr. Chidambaram has done a decent job with Islamic extremists, showing his mettle, yes, Operation Green Hunt needs to be looked at closely and it appears to be far from perfect, but there is no doubt that there is no one else in this Government or in the Opposition for that matter, who is more capable of getting rid of the menace.

The Number of Maoists Involved

Initial reports that came out said that the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans were thoroughly outnumbered, a ratio of one to ten, with close to a thousand Maoists attacking less than a hundred CRPF men. This begged asking the obvious question; how did the intelligence apparatus fail so miserably that no one got a wind of a thousand Naxalites gathering in one place? How did a hundred odd CRPF men get instructions to go into a dense forest where a thousand Naxalite men were assembled? If intelligence agencies had no idea there were a thousand Naxalites, it shows a clear intelligence failure. If they knew, it, in a way, is even more worrisome because it shows a clear breakdown of command.

Later reports suggested that there were only around 200 Maoist guerrillas, possibly less. That raises another uncomfortable question, why couldn't the members of an elite paramilitary force tackle less than 200 Naxalites?

If the earlier reports are correct, the uncomfortable questions remain.

If the later reports are true, the answer probably lies in the training, equipment, living conditions and morale of paramilitary forces fighting the guerrillas.

Reports I saw on NDTV 24*7 showed how the CRPF men posted in Naxalite infested areas are paid just 10,000-12,000 rupees per month. A radio taxi driver in Delhi earns more. The men live in filthy camps, they have to walk 2-3 kilometres to get water. How can we expect men living in such appalling conditions fight men who are unnervingly motivated?

Operation Green Hunt

The Indian state is stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Consider the following dilemmas facing it:

1. The Naxalite movement is a result of large masses of people being excluded from the economic development process, therefore to eliminate the 'root cause,' development and good governance must reach the Naxal infested areas.

2. Development and Governance cannot take place in a region where gun-toting bands of guerrillas spread fear, where paramilitary forces are killed en masse in ambushes.

3. In order to get rid of the Naxalites, the offensive must be stepped up.

4. Increasing the scale of the offensive may result in collateral damage, Naxalites remain embedded in the local populations.

5. Large collateral damage will turn people against the forces, making them move towards the Naxals, feeding the movement.

We're back to square one.

6. If the paramilitary forces fail, the Army and Air Force may have to be called in as an absolutely last resort; once this happens, the Armed Forces Special Powers Act will have to be put in place in four-five more states.

7. The AFSPA will turn the local population against the Armed Forces and other instruments of the Indian state, including administrative officials, the ones who will have to get rid of the so called 'root causes' of Naxalism.

8. If the local population turns against India, it will move towards the Naxals, feeding the movement.

We're back to square one.

Saying that the days ahead are going to be hard is clearly an understatement of mammoth proportions but then, if one looks at the situation, what is to be done right now is pretty clear. Now is the time to forcefully destroy the movement because although mounting such large offensives will alienate a lot of people, we don't have any other choice. Without risking this, we risk losing a large amount of India itself, in the very centre of the country. Only once the Naxals have been removed can we try to bring development and governance to these regions, only once they have been destroyed can the long, difficult process of regaining the trust of the local population be started. Liquidating the Naxals, however, raises yet another question, one that refers to the biggest picture there is, the very question of what it means to be an Indian.

Of Maoists and the Idea of India

Maoists believe in violent revolution. Violence as a political tool is anathema to the idea of India, which has domestic ideals of tolerance and secularism and foreign policy ideals of non violence and peaceful co-existence. Yet, the Indian state also prides itself on Freedom of Speech, the freedom to hold different opinions, express them, form associations to further them. Are Maoists simply members of a different school of thought that can flourish alongside other political ideologies? Mr. Chidambaram certainly thinks so, he continues to offer them a truce, an olive branch, the moment they drop arms. However, one cannot expect them to drop arms because their doctrine is built on the idea of achieving a Maoist society after a violent revolution.

I can't see how they can drop their arms without a serious revision of ideology, and that, for any Communist organisation is a very big deal. For the sake of people living on India's red soil, for the sake of India itself, I earnestly hope I'm hopelessly wrong about that.

Amendment to Comic Relief

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 20:07:00 +0000

It just doesn't seem to end, below is a Hindustan Times article about the government bungling yet again;

The government just can’t seem to get its advertisements right.

On Tuesday, the 79th death anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, the Information and Broadcasting Ministry and the Punjab government splashed separate ads in leading newspapers of the Capital and in Punjab featuring paintings of the martyr.

Historians and Bhagat Singh’s descendants are unhappy with the paintings. “When there are so many photographs of Bhagat Singh available, why use paintings?” asked Chaman Lal, professor at Jawaharlal Nehru University, and editor of Singh’s documents.

The I&B ad had Bhagat Singh in a red turban, the Punjab government one in a yellow one. “Actually, Bhagat Singh wore a European style hat,” said Jagmohan, his nephew.

“Bhagat Singh did not wear a turban for the last three years of his life — from 1928 to the day he was hanged,” added Bipan Chandra, noted historian. “Nor did he have a beard, as the Punjab ad shows.”

Two months ago, the Women and Child Development Ministry had used the photo of a former Pakistani air force chief on an ad commemorating the girl child.

Comic Relief

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 11:24:00 +0000

On National Girl Child Day, the Ministry for Women and Child welfare put out an ad with a photograph of former Pakistani Air Force Chief Tanvir Ahmed next to the photograph of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for no explicable reason.
Yesterday, the Punjab Police in Pakistan put the logo of the Indian Punjab Police in a newspaper advertisement.
Today, an ad put out by the Indian Railways placed Calcutta in the sea and, wait for it, Delhi in Pakistan.
Take a look for yourself:

From click here

Moratorium

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 11:22:00 +0000

Main Entry: mor·a·to·ri·um
Pronunciation: \ˌmȯr-ə-ˈtȯr-ē-əm, ˌmär-\
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural mor·a·to·riums also mor·a·to·ria \-ē-ə\
Etymology: New Latin, from Late Latin, neuter of moratorius dilatory, from Latin morari to delay, from mora delay
Date: 1875
1 a : a legally authorized period of delay in the performance of a legal obligation or the payment of a debt b : a waiting period set by an authority
2 : a suspension of activity

From Merriam Webster Online

Paraphrasing 'Macbeth'

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 06:59:00 +0000

I know that my friends are probably going to kill me for this, I've driven them insane by quoting Macbeth all the time, but I cannot resist:

On Mayawati being attacked by a bunch of bees on the Ides of March:

"The fiend like Mayawati- Worthy to be a rebel, for to that the multiplying villainies of nature do swarm upon her"

On President Obama increasingly getting mired in the health care quicksand, not focusing enough on jobs, he should be warned that if he doesn't get the economy going quickly:

"He will be in blood stepp'd in so far that should he wade no more, returning would as tedious as go o'er."

Bizarre Times

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 06:39:00 +0000

I haven't ridiculed my pet punching bag, The Times of India, for a while now, its high time I present some criticism. Don't worry, it isn't criticism of the empty sort, there is good reason today.

Consider today's paper, 18th March, 2010. The main item on the front page is titled "Autos must be phased out:CM." Sheila Dikshit announced in the Delhi Assembly that autos were "low standard mode" of transport and that the city deserved a "better and eco-friendly battery operated" alternative. I'm quoting here almost word for word from the paper here.

The Times of India, however, seems to disagree. In any case this ridiculous idea of a small "Times View" box in the article defies newspaper convention (most respectable publications know that writing for the sole purpose of expressing an opinion should be restricted to the editorial pages) but the Times View for this article reaches new heights of senselessness. It says, and I quote, "Autorickshaws may be a menace on the road but banishing them is not the solution.... Banishing them is to throw up your hands in despair and admit defeat." Now let me revert back to the main article and quote from it, "Dikshit added that the government was in touch with auto makers Honda and Bajaj to provide battery operated vehicles." Throwing up hands in defeat? The government wants to get green autorickshaws, where is the defeat? It is a progressive stance if you ask me.

The opinion of the paper has nothing to do with the article, it sounds like a rant sucked out of one of Delhi's drawing rooms in the evening with the stench of liquor hanging thick.

Seek A Fresh Mandate

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 06:11:00 +0000

The fiasco in Parliament yesterday has resulted in a very interesting situation, to say the least. The Government, striving for petty symbolism, made the mistake of trying to get the Women's Reservation Bill passed on Women's Day. We all know how well that worked out. Not only is that symbolism lost, the Congress has succeeded in alienating allies who may now prevent the Finance Bill from being passed. When a Finance Bill doesn't pass, the Government is supposed to put in its papers. Had the Government waited with the Women's Bill, it could have first got the Budget passed, which isn't without controversies of its own, and then it could have risked incurring the wrath of the casteist, backward, obese, criminal, petty, idiots that the media only unnecessarily glorifies by referring to as the 'Yadav Troika.'

Unless, as some news anchors are suggesting, 'old grey men' in the Congress itself, for obvious reasons, do not want this bill to be passed, I feel the following should be done:

1. Without delay, write to Harvard University and get their governing body to issue a condemnation of their one time guest, Lalu Prasad Yadav.

2. Organise a time bound debate on the Bill in both houses, making it abundantly clear that the debate will not happen if any man steps into the well of the House, chants slogans while someone is speaking, or if someone tries to assault the country's Vice President.

3. Do not 'talk' to Lalu, Mulayam and Sharad Yadav. By talking to them the Congress is only condoning violence and encouraging 'unparliamentary,' to use the most diplomatic of words, behaviour.

4. If the caste issue is raised by any non violent member of the House, consider it, it is a backward idea (get the pun?) but in a Parliamentary democracy all ideas must be considered. In any case, the BJP and Left don't want these quotas within the quota.

5. Get the Women's Bill passed without worrying about alienating these cumbersome allies.

6. Dissolve the Fifteenth Lok Sabha, avoid risking the humiliation that would occur if the Finance Bill were to fall through.

The BJP is still in disarray, the Bengali masses haven't had time to hate Mamata Banerjee yet, the Congress is still popular but most importantly, this will finish off the Shiv Sena in Maharashtra, still reeling from a certain Gandhi's shock treatment, and the opportunistic parties that have been stinking up the cowbelt for decades now.

Mrs. Gandhi and Dr. Singh, call for elections and if I could, I'd vote for you.

Reasons to be happy with the UPA

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 03:59:00 +0000

I'd never thought I will write a post like this one but eight months into its second term, the United Progressive Alliance government has given me much cause for cheer and optimism. Yes, the spate of Hundred-Days plans floated by many ministries including Home and Human Resource Development have predictably been forgotten but there have been many displays of far-sightedness and good democracy. Here is counting down the reasons:

No. 8

As has been recommended by the Kirit Parikh committee, the files are slowly but steadily moving in order to free the petrol price to allow it to be dictated by market forces. This is very important for the health of oil marketing companies, the government's coffers and for the environment- the price signal would increase focus on efficiency and, in the long run, development and popularisation of alternative fuels.

No. 7

S.M Krishna's Foreign Ministry, in my personal opinion, has handled the Australian problem brilliantly. The official response has been moderate yet stern and has not once bowed down before the ridiculous Aussie bashing the media has embarked upon. Mr. Krishna was vindicated to some extent when it emerged a few weeks back that the incident in which an Indian's car was allegedly burnt down was apparently a case of Insurance crime- he tried to burn it himself to get the claim money.

No. 6

Decriminalising homosexuality- Although it was the High Court that made the decision,the committee consisting of Chidambaram and Verappa Moily did not speak out against the judgement.

No. 5

Rahul Gandhi's handling of the goons of Bombay. The manner in which he mocked, ridiculed and knocked the living daylights out of Messers Thackeray and Thackeray, and Thackeray without saying a word or delivering a punch was nothing short of fabulous.

No. 4

Home Minister Chidambaram's handling of extremist Islamic terror has been fairly successful. While I don't want to count chickens before they hatch, he has done a good job of not letting another 26/11 happen. The approach adopted against the Maoists has been courageous- he has stuck to requests to drop arms and negotiate while increasing resources to fight them, while seeking packages to develop the affected areas. Lots of carrots and sticks, precisely what is needed.

No. 3

The novel ideas being proposed for Kashmir are heartening. Coalition partner, the National Conference has proposed a rehabilitation programme for surrendered terrorists, this is a mature approach, it may sound risky but considering little else has worked it is most definitely worth a try.

No. 2

Jairam Ramesh has in a very short time completely changed the perception of the Ministry of Environment and Forests. Yes, things are not going too well where climate change is concerned, and we could do without voodoo-science mud-slinging but other than that, he has won me over. He admits problems, he talks about not letting dams come up in biologically diverse regions, but what impressed me most was his tackling of Bt. Brinjal. His decision came after weeks of travelling the country, judging public opinion, meeting scientists, farmers, seed lobbyists, environmentalists- he should not have lost his temper so many times, but save for that, his handling of the issue was exceptional.

No. 1

The UPA government has been the bigger person while dealing with Pakistan. In spite of everything, we have held out the olive branch; Sharm al Sheikh (which I still maintain was NOT a fiasco) and now the February Offer. The Manmohan Singh-Shiv Shankar Menon team has held its ground.

Things are far from ideal, Mamata Banerjee has seen some six train accidents in two months and kept her mouth shut, Kapil Sibal has made the news but not the decisions, we need to figure out climate change, the Maoists need to be stopped, NREGA, I feel, needs to be reviewed, but a good start has been made.

Blowin' It Out of Proportion

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 17:57:00 +0000

Shah Rukh Khan's detention for 'two hours' has caused heartburn and uproar all over India.
Not justified.

1. The detention was One hour and Six Minutes, not Two hours. Exaggeration.

2. We have no right to be so full of angst- The incident took place in the US. They have their rules, we have no right to interfere. I can't even say we must respect their procedures because, well, they aren't ours to respect. The rules have nothing to do with us, we need to not waste newsprint on them. Yes, if SRK had been illegally detained, without reason, tortured, India had every right to scream bloody murder. None of that happened.

3. Adequate reasons were given- His baggage hadn't arrived. Ever since the Air India Kanishka bombing, the civil aviation world has been justifiably extremely particular about passengers and luggage being together. If your luggage gets on board, they will get suspicious. If you get on board and your luggage is on another plane, they will get suspicious. They have every right to be suspicious.

4. General US slamming is unfair. Reversion to Former President Kalam's frisking senseless. Even in that case, Continental wasn't wrong, the rules apparently say that once you're on the aerobride, the law that holds is that of the country to which the airline you're boarding belongs. Therefore US rules were in force and they don't discriminate based on your former office.

To put this cacophony into perspective, a few weeks before Asian Icon, Global Superstar and the man-with-millions-of-fans-in-the-US-so-he'll-go-back was detained at Newark, another man was questioned by the police in the US, albeit on the road, the staff on duty didn't recognise him.
The name of this man was Bob Dylan.

Concrete Talk

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Sun, 02 Aug 2009 14:03:00 +0000

As a much awaited monsoon shower finally blessed Delhi last week, a section of road in south Delhi caved in onto a sewer line. The road had been fixed after a similar incident a little while ago.

After a pillar at a Delhi Metro construction site collapsed near Lady Shri Ram College in South Delhi, killing five workers, a committee appointed by the DMRC found 16 more such cracks in pillars all over the city.

Stupidity of this sort is evident all across Delhi.

Brand new footpaths will be sanctioned in areas where the existing ones remain solid. Three months later, the somewhat elegant, grey stone footpaths with little tufts of grass at places will be replaced by kitschy "inter-locking" pink and white tiles "fixed" into place. The new path will be raised some three feet above the ground making it an expedition to climb one of them. At each end, there will be a six inch long, seventy five degree steep "ramp," although I can't see how any wheelchair will make its way up or down that thing. Three days after they are opened, the contractor who promised to clean the rubble would disappear (the old grey stone will lie in heaps in the middle of the new "path"), three weeks after it opens, the three feet embankment would have sunk in places where the mud underneath was soft, three months after it opens, the rain would have created puddles between the tiles.

Job well done.

When it Flu Out of Control..

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 07:52:00 +0000

If you haven't seen a WHO briefing yet, put on CNN and wait for it. Really, its something worth seeing. The Assistant Director will come on and very calmly say things like, "Swine flu is only in its early stages, it will continue to grow." And "This virus has spread more in six weeks than earlier pandemics have in six months." Finally, "THe H1N1 virus will probably affect two billion people."

There's an unsettling degree of contradiction everywhere. One report comes talking about how H1N1 will probably affect every third person in the world, which also indirectly means it will affect every family in the world. Then there are reports of about how healthy, paranoid people are almost bringing the NHS to its knees. Then some Tory MP says the NHS helpline is too little too late. Then, the statistics come (I've only seen confirmed NHS ones, I don't know about the rest), 100,000 cases in England, 26 deaths. Do the math. That is a 0.026% fatality rate. The authorities need to decide. Is this a problem? Tell us. Is this going to be a disaster? Tell us. Is this going to be mild enough to not require any co-ordinated action? Tell us.

If it is not going to go the Spanish Flu way, fine. A few, unanimous, comforting statements will be in order. If it is spiralling out of control, somebody has got to own up. I'm pretty sure if the pandemic had not originated in Mexico and the US, but say, in India, the US would have banned all arrivals from India.

Exit Screening

The issue of exit screening, or rather its absence, bewilders me. The current method, of screening passengers on arrival makes little sense. What is the point of screening people after a two, four, six, eight, fourteen, whatever hour journey in a closed vehicle with hundreds of others on board, sometimes thousands of miles away from the affected country? If they do indeed have swine flu, they could've infected several other people and these pandemics, I hear, grow geometrically. When they land, they can infect dozens of others at immigration counters, baggage claim etc. before they are finally screened. Why can't screening take place prior to departure. Even from the perspective of a patient that would be better. I'm sure an infected American would rather be quarantined in Washington Dulles prior to departure rather than be whisked away from IGI Delhi on arrival to the isolation ward in Ram Monohar Lohia hospital- alien country, alien people, family far away.

London Calling

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 05:41:00 +0000

It is July, I'm in Delhi, school is on. Our school is not air conditioned. The clouds have been ridiculously stingy this year, it has rained only twice. There is no respite in sight. The Uttar Pradesh government today declared twenty districts as officially drought hit. Non-basmati rice and wheat exports have been banned, even as the Union Minister for Agriculture, Sharad Pawar declared that India has enough grain for 13 months. In short, not a good time to be sitting here; fan revolving creakily, air conditioner not working (water leaking out of the vents), maths work lying incomplete on my table etc. As I punch the keys on this laptop, I cannot help having my mind racing back a little over a month. London. Rain. Breeze. Sweaters. No need for an air conditioner. No provision for a fan in the ceiling.

I miss getting up on that mattress in that drawing room in Harrow with an agenda that including walking, eating, walking, yes, more eating, with a few museums and football stadia (courtesy my brother) thrown in. I miss that mile long walk down Sudbury Court Drive to the tube station. I miss the bemused expression on the face of the Indian man at the station counter. A peculiar smile would appear on his face as my father would appear at the window yet again asking for day passes for four. Zone one to four, even though we were going from zone four to one. (Remember this if you go there, they get inexplicably offended if you say zone four to one, it is always, always, zone one to four) We would ask for three adult passes and one for a child (courtesy my brother). He would ask, "Who?" and my brother would stick his face into the counter window. Armed with four day passes, zone one to four, we would take the Piccadilly Line to Green Park and from there take one of the assorted lines to our destination for the morning. Hyde Park, Greenwich, the Globe Theatre, Arsenal; thought that was on Piccadilly itself, Buckingham Palace; those men cannot march, were all on our menu. In the evenings, some strange twist of fate, some say divine intervention, would see us getting off at Oxford Street or one of the other stations on that Street. We'd walk to either Marks and Spencer or some other such store, yes, once to Selfridges (ridiculous- track pants for 109 pounds!). Then we'd eat, anything ranging from Cinnabon to Chinese food from a cardboard box. The Piccadilly Line would again play host to us, taking us back to Sudbury Hill station.

We'd get off the train and walk back, this time uphill, thinking about which football stadium and museum to visit the next day. The weather was always good, it always seemed as if it was going to rain. I really don't know what Britons complain about. My jacket now lies neglected, it deserves to be worn.

Yes Prime Minister

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Sat, 25 Jul 2009 06:05:00 +0000

The Indian political system is plagued with many illnesses: excessive lethargy, corruption, red tapism but no disease is more widespread than myopia, myopus politicus. Statements and policies from most government agencies are so short sighted that it almost begins to seem as if our ministers and bureaucrats expect Doomsday to come tomorrow. This has been going on for so long that sadly, some media houses have also been infected (myopus politicus is highly contagious, unlike opthalmological myopia).

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Pakistani counterpart Yousuf Raza Gilani met at the sidelines of the Non Aligned Movement meet at Sharm-al-Sheikh in Egypt. The meeting produced a joint statement that has courted more negative publicity than it deserved. When Dr. Singh returned home, he was accused of selling out to Pakistan by delinking the composite dialogue with Pakistan and the latter's commitment to cracking down on terrorists on its soil. The mention of Balochistan in the joint statement also caused no dearth of criticism against him. Balochistan, a province in Pakistan, has been home to a movement asking for independence for a very long time now and Pakistan has frequently levelled charges against India, and especially the RAW, for instigating these movements. India has summarily discredited these accusations. Nowhere in the joint statement did PM Singh accept India's role in Balochistan but the Pakistanis said that its very mention implied that India had accepted its role. The Congress now began to witness discontent against the Prime Minister's decision to let these clauses be. On the 19th of June, Leader of Opposition LK Advani said that the PM had 'squandered diplomatic advantage.' As far as the Baloch issue is concerned, this might be true, but this post is not concerned with that. It is the reaction to the Composite Dialogue debate that has caused me adequate heartburn to write this. The PM deserves not censure but praise for thinking with the future in mind, for putting sentiment on the backburner and putting pragmatism before everything else.

I strongly believe that the PM and his aides took a brave, farsighted and necessary call by allowing the delinking of the CD process and Pakistan's crackdown on terrorists. Let us understand one thing very clearly, Pakistan as a state is in trouble, its institutions are crumbling, the PM and the President don't see eye to eye on much, the Army is often on its own trip, it is having to bombard its own territory in the North West. Can a country like this be expected to effectively crack down on a well organised terrorist syndicate on its own? Can the Pakistani government, sitting in on a very fragile democracy heed to the US, India, displease its own population and risk collapsing? Unequivocally, no. The populations in both India and Pakistan like nothing more than a statement against the other. Any hint of compromise, reconciliation and the media and 'civil society' come screaming with accusations of a 'sell out.' Pakistan right now is weak, as a country, as a democracy. Gilani, Zardari and that genius of a man Rehman Malik will continue to let out all sorts of nonsense against India. The Indian leaders will want to respond and in their defence, Pakistan is not a nice neighbour to have but the fact remains that in the long run, these reactionary policies will not end terrorism, Baitullah Mehsud will not be defeated. India must take the higher ground. One of the two has to. Pakistan cannot afford to, the Pakistani people must remain happy with their leaders. India can afford to, its democracy is, thankfully, well entrenched and stable. Admittedly, it will not make the UPA seem heroic, it will probably give LK Advani more chances to criticise the ruling coalition but someone has to make a brave start. The composite dialogue process will improve economic and cultural ties between the two nations. Increased commerce between the two nations will help Pakistan's economy recover. Cultural ties will help increase confidence in both the Indians and the Pakistani people in each other's countries. Pakistai institutions like the Judiciary will get time to grow and gain the respect of the people. With a strong foundation, the Pakistani state will be in a better position to crack down on extremists.

Manmohan Singh has demonstrated in the past that he is willing to rise above political childishness, that he is willing to stick to his guns if he believes in something. I only wish that the same spirit prevails.

Shame On You

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 19:52:00 +0000

This is not directed towards the Indian team, yes, they've lost, but T20 is sport and losing isn't a crime. It is the Indian media with whom I have a bone to pick. Team India was purring along nicely until some idiots sitting somewhere on Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg in New Delhi decided they would blow an injury issue wide open. Sehwag 'carried' his IPL injury to London. Yes, why not, Virender Sehwag, vice captain of the Indian cricket team would go allll the way to earn two lakh rupees. Are we really supposed to believe that this man who endorses multiple brands would risk embarrasment to earn some money? Sehwag does not live in penury, there is no reason to suspect his motives. What is understandable that Sehwag, being the willow loving man that he is, would have thought that he would be fit in time. Fine, so it was a mistake on his part and yes, he should have been reprimanded. What, however, was the reason for the whole trial by media? It did nothing other than create an atmosphere of hostility around the team. They're all brilliant professionals but this negative publicity does affect concentration, motivation, morale. Dhoni was forced to orchestrate a 'show of strength' at a press conference in Nottingham to show there was no rift within the team! Which other team has been forced by a bunch of camera wielders to engage in such theatrics? It was a team issue and it should have been left to team to sort out.

Dhoni and Co., India is too crazy about cricket to forget this easily, that is the reality. The fault however, is not yours. Those idiots at Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg are the ones at fault, if I had my way, I'd never let them near a keyboard again.

Cambridge

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 10:31:00 +0000

I couldn't have asked for more. On my very first day I got to see the famous English rain, slow and persistent. More importantly, I heard a British man say 'Bloody'ell.' I no longer know what I'm looking for over here.

We went to see Cambridge University today. It is an exceedingly beautiful campus, with the River Cam lazily meandering around some of the most well known colleges in the world. The Cam is narrow and at most places fairly shallow, its course isn't completely natural, with one of the Henrys having altered it to make it more aesthetically pleasing. It was extremely sunny today, something people around here get disproportionately excited about. As a result, not just those from Cambridge but those from areas nearby were up and about on its streets and greens. This also made getting a chance to go 'Punting' very difficult because the Cam was covered with a not so fine layer of long wooden boats. This is perhaps a good time to explain what Punting really is. It is essentially a means of river/canal transport in which a 'punter', standing at the rear of the boat, hits a long metal tipped pole into the riverbed, propelling his vessel forward. Most of the punters are Cambridge students, seeking an extra buck. Shops all across the University town, in fact, employ students in large numbers. We eventually signed up for a punting tour on the river, having been convinced by a student salesman. We were told that we would be on a boat in twenty five minutes, at four thirty five. We got onto one at five twenty after having stood in a queue for forty five minutes.

The wait, in retrospect, was worth it. From the boat we got some spectacular views of some of the more well known colleges in Cambridge, including the Chapel of King's College. The architecture in Cambridge is truly spectacular. One of the buildings, today used to provide accommodation for the student at the St. John's College, has an enviable or very unenviable history, I don't know which one. It is believed that Hitler fell in love with it, so much so that he had decided to use it as the Headquarters of the Third Reich after he defeated the Allies. There were also two interesting bridges that we went under; the Bridge of Sighs and the Mathematical Bridge. The former, part of the St. John's College, is named after a bridge in Venice. In Venice, the bridge was named for an understandable reason. The bridge was completely covered save for a small hole, and it connected the local jail to the gallows. Through the window, the condemned would get their last glimpse of light and would, yes, well, sigh. The one in Cambridge, however, looks nothing like the one in Venice. Students and not 21st century versions of Tom Dooley use it. Why then, is it called the Bridge of Sighs? According to our excellent punter, the architect had had one glass of brandy too many. There is one more interesting story linked with this Bridge. There is another bridge a few metres upstream also part of St. John's that connects the breakfast hall with the classrooms. Two hundred years ago, an extremely bored student was munching on his toast not quite excited by the prospect of a day of classes. A funny thought entered his mind. He thought, 'Let me try to throw this piece of bread across the Bridge of Sighs.' It has been two hundred years and no one has accomplished the feat. This, if I remember correctly, was the place the famous Bloody'ell came. As we were moving under the bridge, two more boats emerged right in front of us and before we knew it, we were stuck in a riverjam and that is when it came.
The Mathematical Bridge is a different kind of bridge- it is made entirely of wood. The sheer symmetry on display is beautiful. There is legend surrounding the bridge, that the bridge was originally designed by Sir Isaac Newton and it stood without a single nut or bolt, it was all wood. The legend is, however, false, for Newton died some twenty three years before the Bridge was built. It is, nonetheless, a remarkable bit of work, simply because it is all wood. Its actual creator, I forget his name, wanted to prove to the world that a safe bridge could be built using just sound geometry and physics and strong materials like stone weren't necessary.

Our ride ended at six and we soon made our way back to the car. Cambridge is a lovely place, if you get a chance to see it, do not miss it. Tomorrow is India vs. England, do or die for both sides. Something tells me there're going to be more Indian supporters than English ones at Lord's tomorrow. Bloody'ell.

The elephant that is UP (Haha, get it?)

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:22:00 +0000

The results of this seemingly indecisive election may rest very heavily on Mayawati and her fellow bahujans.
Uttar Pradesh has a mammoth 80 seats, other states don't even come close to this, with states like Andhra Pradesh having 40 odd. The answer to the riddle that is Lok Sabha 09, I personally feel will come from this sweltering cow belt state. Just the number of seats, 80, is astounding enough. The other thing that makes it so very important is the existence of what I like to call the 'swing parties,' the Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party.
The Samajwadi Party, currently part of the hilarious 'Fourth Front,' is facing a do or die battle. Its hold over UP has fallen over the years and a poor showing may be the final nail in Mulayam Singh's coffin. The bitter internal feud that threatens to tear the SP apart isn't helping matters.
The Bahujan Samaj Party, part of the Third Front, is very hard to decode. Around two years ago, the BSP under Mayawati created history of sorts by sweeping the UP Assembly elections and forming the first one party majority government in the state in a long time. The win, by most, was attributed to 'social engineering,' essentially striking a eureka-worthy idea of getting both the Dalit and the Brahmin votes. The win, by some, was attributed simply to the hopeless showing of the SP government. This time, for Lok Sabha 09 too, its hard to say what will happen.
In this post, I look at the various possibilities, from the perspective of the BSP:
A BSP Sweep
Several are of the view that the BSP is going from strength to strength and Mayawati has become an enigma, her megalomania isn't harming electoral prospects. The BSP will sweep the polls are will consequently hold considerable leverage in the Third Front as well as with others when the messy task of government formation begins.
Personally, I feel this is of course possible, but unlikely.
Implication for Congress? Mostly negative. Mayawati is a political bully, it'll be difficult to silence her demands for the Congress to support a Third Front as government with her as Prime Minister.
A not so great performance
The BSP succeeds in keeping its engineered vote bank intact, mostly, but the carefully woven carpet begins fraying at the edges as anti-incumbency, Mayawati's brashness start hurting. The BSP gets thirty five odd seats.
Likely.
Implication for Congress? Mostly positive. The Congress gets greater bargaining power with the Third Front, whose support it will, in all likelihood, need, to form a government.
Disaster for the BSP
Lack of proper governance, failure to control crime, fielding of criminals from so many places, her incessant statue building all over UP do not go down will the electorate. They give the BSP a real dressing down.
I wish.
Implication for Congress? Mostly positive. Rahul Gandhi is vindicated for going solo in UP as the seats that the BSP loses will go to either the Congress or the SP. If they go to the Congress, good for them, if they go to the SP, well, Amar Singh can be convinced.

How things may play out...

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Wed, 13 May 2009 17:27:00 +0000

Now that the last ballot of Lok Sabha 2009 has been cast, there will be a very visible and amusing change in the rubbish churned out by the politicians. The temperature, by tomorrow morning, will return to 98.4 F, well below the current 105 F, symptomatic of a maddening fever.

Prior to the Ludhiana rally, reports coming in suggested that the incumbent UPA may get another shot at five years at Race Course Road, the rally, however, did to a certain extent, what it was supposed to do. The NDA succeeded in getting Modi and Nitish Kumar on the same platform, apparently a big deal for NDTV because Nitish Kumar, in a Barkha Dutt interview had said that he would never share the stage with a 'communal' Modi. It also succeded in getting the elusive KCR (to some people, it sounds like a really 'cool' name) , K Chandrashekhar Rao onto the stage- Rao was a Third Front leader. When the numbers, however were looked at again, BJP + weren't looking as strong as the display of brute strength at Ludhiana may have intended them to be perceived. There aren't enough states where they will do significantly better than last time. Rajasthan, Punjab, West Bengal are all expected to show major gains for the Congress. Orissa, well, the BJP no longer has the BJD and without the BJD it isn't the force it once used to be. Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Chattisgarh are the states where the BJP is expected to do well. The problem, however, is that them doing well here isn't that big a deal simply because these are recognised strongholds- there isn't going to be any improvement as such. Uttar Pradesh, well, that is fodder enough for another article.

From the perspective of the Congress, things are looking a little better. I've been fortunate enough to get a chance to intern at a newspaper for the past week and from what I've heard flying around in the newsroom is that this drama will face a four stage endgame. If it goes all the way to stage four, the Congress in all likelihood will sit in the Opposition. The Congress is well placed to be the first one to knock on the doors of Rashtrapati Bhawan. This is something that they are almost certain of doing, along with UPA-Congress seats and the 160 odd that they're confident of getting, they will be the first ones to scramble together their numbers for the President. Congress+ however in all probability will not breach 272, the cliched 'magic' number. When that happens, the UPA will seek support from the Third Front, this is the second 'stage.' If they get some sort of support, good for them, they will present the numbers and Mrs. Patil will invite the UPA for a second term in office. The third stage will take place if the Third Front insists on being a thorn in the Congress' backside. The Third Front, with a hundred and fifty odd seats of their own may turn around and ask the Congress to support them. This may or may not be agreed upon by the Congress. If the Congress disagrees, we will enter the fourth and final stage where the Congress will decline to support an unstable Third Front coalition, they will instead sit in the Opposition and Advani and Co. will get a shot at Government.

This sequence, however, is a highly Congress biased position, assuming the BJP remains mum in the immediate aftermath of the results being declared.

The only certainty is that no one knows anything for sure right now. It is possible, that the Indian electorate shocks everybody and delivers a decisive mandate in favour of one party or one group. In 2004, no one, perhaps not even some in the Congress felt that they would win, the media was predicting a landslide victory for the BJP, yet the Congress scrambled together the required numbers with ample help from myriad sources and the United Progressive Alliance was born. In the same way, in 2009, the electorate may give one or the other party close to 200, 272, however, still remains as likely to be breached as someone actually reading the nonsense I dish out.

Exeunt

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Wed, 13 May 2009 14:43:00 +0000

As the last of the polling booths across the country finally closed at sundown, it was time for the dramatis personae to exeunt after spending weeks, some of them months, out in the Indian summer, campaigning, lying and manipulating. As the sun went down, the Election Commission imposed restrictions on exit polls also lifted and television channels were out in force. The predictions range from the cautious to the absurd.
Times Now is giving the BJP 142, the Congress 154, the Left 38 and the remaining 209 will go to Others. This, I feel is a cautious and realistic estimate. It is in line with the predictions given out by the bigger parties themselves, of course the parties are all declaring themselves winners.
The most absurd ones come from India TV and some other channel that give the Left over a hundred seats!
CLICK HERE for all the details.

Put an end to the NONSENSE.

noreply@blogger.com (Kirat Singh) — Fri, 08 May 2009 17:19:00 +0000

this is the first time i've lost my temper on my blog.

let me make it clear at the outset that this post is with reference to urban areas like delhi and mumbai only, not the rural areas.

"all of them become scoundrels"

"academic activities"

"medical check up"

"not worth going in the hot sun"

these are the excuses given by people on the street for NOT GOING TO VOTE.

the same, shallow idiots who complain.

I've had it and I'm going to rant.

i don't feel let down by politicians. no i don't. many of them are murderers and rapists, some are openly communal and racist. but there are some who want to bring about a change and the only reasons these people these souls don't get a chance is because so many of us from 'civil society' don't care to take our backsides off our chairs and press a button.

Let me answer all those ridiculous excuses,

"academic activity"- any 'academic activity' that has not taught you the importance of exercising your franchise is not worth being called academic activity, its called reading from a book either filled with nonsensical formulae or useless facts.

"they are all going to become scoundrels"- they become scoundrels because we aren't vigilant, we don't even care enough to vote. they become scoundrels because we don't care to vote them out of power when they become so big for their boots that the boots rip at the seams, tear and are reduced to ridiculous pieces of leather.

"medical check up"- you self obsessed organism, the nation is slipping into truly terminal illness and all you don't even care to reschedule a check up. you are not even going for surgery, you're going for a 'check up.' on second thoughts, you need a check up, you really need to be 'checked' if you are so blissfully ignorant or so blatantly selfish.

"not worth going out in the hot sun"- from a person with a car? really? think of a better excuse. close to a MILLION PEOPLE TURNED UP for obama's inauguration under freezing conditions, they sat on grassy, dewy, cold grounds from the crack of dawn to catch a glimpse of their elected leader. we cant go to a room with a fan in a car with an ac to press a small button and then return to air conditioned environs.

The biggest piece of garbage that floats around is this strange demand for a 'none of the above option.' sounds insanely clever. smart. politicians are useless. we are all jaded cynics. lets say none of the above, we'll make a statement.
a democracy works on the principle of majority. if the majority says none of the above, how does that help? the only loser then is democracy. there are no winners. mark, no winners, just a very big loser. all you are saying is that the options given by democracy are hopeless, what is the alternative? dictatorship? autocracy? did i hear someone complain that the congress engages in dynastic politics? throw your hat into the ring if you really think none of the above should be made an option. its especially disturbing when 'lawyers' from mumbai on ndtv propagate such ideas. i've got it. fine, let none of the above be an option. but, if you select none of the above, you MUST STAND FOR ELECTION FROM THE SAME CONSTITUENCY THE NEXT TIME ROUND. its only fair. there.

delhi continues to be giddy because they 'beat' mumbai. 42% of the electorate voted in mumbai, in delhi, 53% of the registered voters actually cast their ballots. WOW. OH. JOY!!! A LITTLE MORE THAN HALF OF THE ELECTORATE CAST THEIR VOTES IN THE NATIONAL CAPITAL. PHEW! what an achievement in self determination!!! seriously, time to gloat.

there was no dearth of elderly voters, some of the pictures had to be seen to be believed. i read an article about a man who has voted in every election since 1951. the man now cannot walk unaided. he hasn't stepped out of his house since 2004 for non medical reasons... and voting. i suggest we take all those celebrity faces off that black and white video thing in mumbai asking people to vote (three of them didn't vote because they weren't in their registered constituency, one was 'unwell' and one was an american citizen) and put on the story of this man and countless others who understand what that stained finger means.