India among top ten countries where slavery is prevalent

Slave labour has been officially outlawed worldwide for over a century in many countries and more recently in the last decade a number of western and African nations have made official apologies for their role in the salve trade.  However, it is estimated that close to 30 million people worldwide are still living under various forms of modern salve labour.

A recent article in The Indian Express ranks India in 4th category worldwide where salvery is still prevalent.  It is interesting to note that India is considered to have one of the best anti-slavery laws in the world, but due to poor enforcement of the laws, the practice prevails.  India has also the dubious record of the highest bondage-labour in the world, with half of the world's salve labour population being in India.  The salient points highlighted by the article are:

* With an estimated 13.9 million slaves, India is home to almost half the world's slave population.
* Almost all forms of slavery are prevalent, ranging from inter-generational bonded labor to sex trafficking, child labor and forced marriage.
* Experts say India has excellent anti-slavery laws but enforcement is sporadic and inconsistent. It remains one of the few nations not to have ratified the Worst Forms of Child Lab our Convention.

Tamil Nadu farmer gunning for top job

K S Thangavel alias Govanam (apparently it translates to loin cloth in Tamil), is running for India's top job.  He has unsuccessfully attempted to be elected to a political role in the last 20 years, but this has not deterred him from trying for India's top job.  The President post is up for grabs as the member of parliament are not seeing eye to eye on any of the current names that have been forward, so some pundits reckon Gavanam has a chance.  To further his chances, Mr Thangavel has put up his own web site to promote his views and accomplishments.  Mr Thangavel has adopted the pseudonym of Gavanam as a symbol of farmer's plight which is in stark contrast to the increasingly upwardly mobile urban working class who are reaping the benefits of the country's economical success.
I have to say that having first dismissed the stories in the papers, I am now rather impressed by Mr Thangavel's effort to promote his aspirations.  Even if his chances of being selected to the post (India does not elect the president) are slim, he will have succeeded in getting plenty of attention from the media which may still serve him well in his bid for local elections.  Although I have to wonder, suppose he did get selected, would he retain loin cloth for state functions?

India's plastic president?

Yet another sad example of Indian politics.  After the majestic term of Dr APJ Kalam, we have had a dismal and lack lustre performance from a what I term India's plastic president.  There was great expectations for our nation's first woman president, but sadly she has only managed to deliver on self served interest.  This article points out the many aspects of her presidency that are best forgotten.

Interestingly, this article, published in the new Indian Express, was quickly followed by half page interview of President Patil in the Hindu paper a couple days later.  The Hindu, often pro-congress and too ready to defend the irrational, attempts to highlight the highs of the presidency, but reading the details comes out as a joke and is  for an office that has a very public role to play in the world's largest democratic, the interview could easily be misinterpreted as a sarcastic joke... so much for the Hindu's efforts.

President Patil will be remembered for her foreign travel excesses, her botched attempt at securing herself a palatial retirement home at the expense of the tax payer, of course some reports of her exorbitant expenses smell of scam from a mile away, such as this naval banquet where the drinking water budget was equivalent to 83 litres of bottled water for every guest!

A luxurious, and rather funny means of attending the Indian Army's desert games...

Did they order a special VIP tank for this exercise?

Why this post in the context sustainable development?  The Indian President is a post with little executive scope, reduced primarily to a public role, it is a nonetheless a very eminent office that commands a lot of respect from the Indian nation and one that can be used to set an example.  Today's needs are for a sustainable world and this is where our president's office can make a difference, by leading the way and setting an example.  President Patil's self-serving term has done exactly the opposite. 

Sustainability, yet another opportunity for corruption?

As this article points out, renewable energy is a growing business today, and who says economic growth says scams in India.  This is a pet project of our central government and a lot of tax payer's money is being channelled into renewable energy projects.  Already there is something fishy about some of the institutions appointed to oversee this development.

An India of fragmented politics?

Here is an interesting article that questions the whole mascarade of last week when didi (helder sister) Hilary met up with UPA2's bete noir, West Bengal chief minister didi Mamata.  The article points out that the official explanation for this mediatic show made no sense, on the other hand, the question of Iran's oil came up towards the end of the visit back in Delhi with our meek foreign minister.  No suprises there!  However, what is more worrying is that this could be a sign of things to come.  India is the world's largest democracy, and as my mother often says, it is a demon-cracy, and rightly so as the political landscape of the largest states are turning to local parties, the result is leading us to an ever increasing fragmented national policy and legistlative stagnancy...

So why did didi Hilary visit a wayward UPA ally?  The article explores the possibility that we may be entering an era where central government will be toothless as the keys will be held with the state goverments and therefore getting India on-board  for international agendas such as sanctions against Iran will require pressure and support from state chief miniters to allow the central government to function at the parliamentry level.

We are in for some interesting horse trading... but could this lead to a brighter future for India?  It is a fact that no single party can govern India today, but is also a fact that there isn't a national party that has the technical ability to do so, even if they obtained a ruling majority.  All parties are made up primarily of corrupt self-serving politicians.  There are actually very few technocrats with the capacity to govern this nation.  the upshot of a fragented political landscape is that a central goverment will have to be composed of a union of parties.  If only a strong leader emerges that can pick the best elements of each party to get India on the right track to reforms.  Time will tell.

Clipping our wings for self serving interests!

This article is interesting because it is revealing the very deep malaise in India's aviation sector which has been at the root of so many problems we have been reading in the papers lately, from the AI debauchery and KF absurdity to the pilot licensing scandal.  The aviation authorities in India, may it be the AAI (airports) or the DGCA (civil aviation) or even the defence sector (read the infamous LCA project), are all suffering of the same syndrome.  This is best summarised with the following words: 

"What can India do for me?"

Self-serving civil servants have been the bane of Nehruvian socialism and remains the biggest obstacle to India's rise.  Here is a typical issue that arise from officials of Airport Authority of India seeking more money and yet not realising that they are shooting themselves in the foot tomorrow.  Today there is NOT a single flying school with a reputation in the country because it is cheaper to fly to the US, rent a house near a flying school, pay the tuition fees and your living expenses for the next 6 months and return with your CPL to ensure a job in the ever expanding airline industry then to try to get the equivalent license locally... unless you want to buy a licence.  If you want a PPL then forget about it!

The reason is rather straightforward, with aviation authorities reportedly requesting 1 lakh Rs per aircraft seat (private communication from air force officer) to register a new jumbo in the country, you can imagine they are simply not interested in promoting general aviation as it does not have the 'business' opportunities to make it worth their time.  This short-sightedness destroys the grass root of the sector, potentially talented aviation engineers and pilots are shut out form a market that is already saturated with foreign workers due to a restricted pool of local talent.  This has a two negative impact for our future, an aviation sector dominated by external talent and regulating institutions that will suffer from a lack of talented minds resulting in rote-learning, self-serving bureaucrats that have no interest in improving the system.  

India, we need to wake up!

Destroying the entrepreneur in you - a.k.a. killing the golden goose

In my earlier post, I had mentioned how removed we are from the original thought line the father of our nation had. Sarvodaya as the true Sustainable movement and how our economic policies have taken us in a totally diametric way.

The only way to go is to have Sustainability as a Mantra in Budget

For several years of our country’s economic was labelled as progressive and liberal. Now we seem to have hit the speed breaker suddenly. And that too while travelling at full speed.

There is a growing concern that our country’s administration has come to a standstill; economy is seeing a negative growth; people are artificially propped above poverty line by adjusting the poverty line. 

Just when you think that things cannot go any further wrong, comes this year’s budget. The Finance minister does fancy accounting. With the burgeoning expenses and keeping the Direct taxes constant, where do we go for the extra cash. Indirect taxes is the answer. 

Now the FM has gone one step ahead in his creative accounting and logic. They have started taxing on the investments. A classic case of killing the golden goose!!! 

It is a reminder to us that our fight for sustainable future is not such an easy one.

http://www.siliconindia.com/news/startups/Will-Budget-2012-Kill-Entrepreneurship-In-India-nid-109785-cid-100.html

Changes in Indian Law

A Few rulings over the last few months have given every Indian citizen something to cheer about and bring some hope that we can move towards a future where bureaucratic impunity can be eradicated and politicians held accountable for their actions. 

Of course, the cancellation of the 2G licences last month is one such ruling that has taken India by storm.  What a slap in the face of the govt. and loss of international credibility... but aside from this, 2 more rulings are brought to light in the article below.  The first pertains to a previous law that said that any court case filed against an active public official would require the approval of their political masters.  This was primarily used by politicians to protect their corrupt cronies.  The recent ruling passed says that should not approval be given within 4 months of the initial request, it will be deemed to have been approved.

The other verdict passed states that every citizen of has the right to petition for actions against public servants suspected of corrupt practices.

Could these two ruling be yet another Tsunami onto the political shores of India such as what the RTI Act has created?

Sarvodya - The Gandhian way of Sustainability

The word sustainability has gained currency in the past few years and is as fashionable as “Paradigm Shift” was in the last decade. We certainly need to worry that the concept of Sustainability will not share the same fate of ridicule that “Paradigm shift” suffered.

But let us not fear too much. The concept of sustainability is as old as Bharata Varsh and the vedas. It is just that we Indians have forgotten it. 

The concept of “Lokah Samastha Sukhino Bhavanthu” encapsulates definition and meaning of Sustainability in four concise words. Lokah – World; Samastha – Community; Sukhino – Happiness; Bhavanthu – May there be. 

The dream of Sustainability somehow got lost in the myriad of Socialism that Independent India pursued much against the wishes and dreams of Gandhiji and other Gandhians.

Sarvodya, the Gandhian concept of sustainability, literally meant “Rising of all”. To me, Sarvodya meant providing “Dignity of living to all human beings”.

In the sixty seven years of independence, India has not been able to provide even one of the fundamental needs:

• Food
• Healthcare
• Education

No wonder Vinobha Bhave spewed scorn at the Planning Commission and their numerous five-yearplans. A dozen such plans later we are still struggling.

World across we have seen uprising against disparate growth. Sustainable growth has to be the answer. 

Independent India has followed Socialism in the beginning and Capitalism towards the end and both times with disastrous effect. Possibly it is time that we looked inwards for the solution. Can Sarvodya be the answer? Here is an article that does a deep-dive into the subject of Sarvodya.

mkgandhi.org/vinoba/anasakti/kantishah.htm

On the eve of this year's Budget presentation, it is apt to publish this article. A look at what real sustainability is and what we have been missing all these years.