Garibi hataao?

by Manish Anand

CONGRESS once again is out to lure people in next year mid-term polls in some states and the 2009 Parliamentary polls with the slogan of garibi hataao. The slogan sells and gets people in power, hence the efficacy of the slogan. Unsuspecting half of the population willingly let themselves get fooled by this slogan year after year.

Indira Gandhi gave this slogan in 1971, and since then Congress has always been coming in power to remove poverty (garibi hataao). But poverty stays. It’s not an Opposition party that could be removed by a slogan.

Poverty not only stays but stinks as well. Suicides by farmers in thousands last year, which still continue, though jolted the self-patting economic planners of the nation and mock at the very approach to poverty alleviation.

The cronies of Indira Gandhi had prodded her for such a slogan who knew nothing else to make their master to come in power. The same class, who be default manage the Indian democracy, has again pushed the Indira Gandhi incarnate, Mrs Sonia Gandhi, to exploit the slogan again, and possibly get her son, Mr Rahul Gandhi, elected as the Prime Minister of India, which has been the fiefdom of his family.

Is Congress nervous?

The Congress came into power because its predecessor National Democratic Alliance built a mirage of great economic achievements translating into all round prosperity of all Indians. The bubble burst as farmers started committing suicides in Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. Poor started selling their children for even Rs 50 in Orissa. All claims of NDA of an economic miracle were rank falsehood sold unashamedly by its suave politicians, which were well read into by the people.

The Congress is in the same position after three years of governance. Two years is a very short period to correct the chronic flaw of Indian economy.

Farmers are still committing suicide in Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Children are still sold in Orissa. Uttar Pradesh and Bihar buried Congress long back for its utter political exploitation of these two states without bothering to economically better people there.

So, Congress has every reason to be nervous, and that too when the Rahul baba is to be handed over the political future of the Congress.

Early this year the finance minister P Chidambaram had dropped in a shopping mall in Noida with his family to watch a movie in one of its movie place. He was astounded to see so many people shopping. The next day he declared that lots of people are buying, and that shows that India is really growing fast! No finance minister in India unfortunately visits the interior of the nation.

Where is the time from the endless meeting with big corporate heads, representatives of World Bank and IMF, etc. Also, finance ministers are hardly repeated. So, the cool comfort of the South Block besots the minister all the time. And, all news of the finance of India in mess irritates him, calling journalists illiterate and ill-informed.

What ills Indian economy?

Isn’t Indian economy all for the middle men? Profiteering middle class has made the most of the new economy, leaving the lower strata getting deeper and deeper in poverty. Everybody cried get the poor to save money. Grow their incomes. Corporatise farm sector has been the call for the last one decade, but for no result other then of snatching the land of the farmer at throwaway price.

Details are all in public domain about answers to the woes of Indian economy. But a class which comes in power on the basis of sloganeering remains convinced that sloganeering could be milked further. So, nothing to worry if more and more people migrate from rural hinterlands to end up living an 18th century miserable industrial lives, it hardly matters to the political class.

Another election preparation, and again the need to go back to the time tested plank. Garibi hataao with some 20 point programme, which is nothing but fraud on the Indian poor, gets unrolling. Let’s see if the Congress could succeed in fooling people once again.

Hang Afzal, damn it!

by Manish Anand


Indians are the most apologetic of the people. Even when its sovereignty is attacked, it dithers whether to punish the culprit or not. Emotionally weak are those who lead the nation, and suffer from rank indecisiveness. Having short memory, its people yield to emotional chorus for mercy for perpetrators of heinous crimes.


The president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam has referred the mercy petition of the wife of Mohammad Afzal to the home secretary, and that stays the scheduled hanging of Afzal on 20 October as of now. Afzal is charged with waging war against the nation as he orchestrated terrorist attack on Parliament, which resulted in seven deaths, including of four security personnel. The attack also brought India and Pakistan close to a full-blown war.


Now, with the Special Court having held him accused and condemned him to death by hanging, the media suave colleague of him swung into action to save him. SAR Geelani, also accused in the same case, commands impressive media audience, and has stepped up efforts in this regard. The Jammu & Kashmir has been painted again in rebellious colour with its renegade politicians making Afzal a martyr for its freedom cause. The Congress leaders as weak as ever have been bowled over by the hue and cry made in the valley. The Congress High Command advisors have equally developed cold feet over hanging of Afzal.


So, where do we go?


The home secretary is expected to turn down the mercy petition. Because, pardon will portray the nation again as a soft nation, which she has been fighting hard to wriggle out of. The eyeball to eyeball response post-Parliament attack was to assert that India is not to tolerate the Pakistani design of giving her hundred cuts. And, attack on the symbol of soverignty was just intolerable. All these haapen just four years ago, not long back.


If Kashmiris really need martyrs, they can get hundreds of them as terrorists get killed by security personnel in the valley. The portrayal of Afzal as a martyr is again a voice typical of those who dream of merging with Pakistan, hoping that they would get an Islamic umbrella to enjoy fruits of life with dignity. The Congress leaders in Jammu & Kashmir as well as those of its alliance partner People's Democratic Front had always dubious credentials about their loyalty to the Indian nation-hood.


Think of those who shed blood in the name of saving the dignity of the Indian motherhood from the nefarious design of her enemies. Thousands of security personnel have laid down their lives thwarting Pakistani attempts. Their children not beaten down still dream of getting opportunity to serve for the cause of Indian nationalism, which is of course an idiotic concept for the burly aristocratic bureaucrats, feeding on British arrogance, as well as by the new class for whom the best in life is all that America has.


Damn it! Get tough against those who kill and maim innocents. Highest crime is waging war against the nation. And, for highest crime, we have capital punishment. So, go ahead and execute Afzal.


Huh, what about the neo-liberals, who call for scraping of capital punishment. Europian Union has done so, and hence India too should do so! Just tell these people to pack off to EU, because India is not Europe. India is a nation, which is always at war with its neighbours, who are well entrenched deep into India to inflict innumerable cuts upon her. Let there be a credible permanent peace, and then we would debate if we could do away with capital punishment. Till then just shut up, and let the law reach its logical conclusion.


Just hang this bloody Afzal for the sake of instilling deterrance in terrorists.

Truly sadistic !

by Manish Anand


Lost in technicalities could best describe judicial engagement on making Delhi a rule following city. For more than eight months the Supreme Court has made the Capital a city living in fear. Fear of sealing! Sealing that cripples business, entrepreneurial activities, and which makes a mockery of the new economy offshoots.


A nexus of politicians, bureaucrats, and lawyers have been living a dream of making Delhi a city like Paris – a city with few people, mansions housing burly breed of these classes, old romanticism associated with a Capital city.


The judiciary this way or that way has got into this tangle; to correct the haphazard growth of the city in the last four decades. Now, it has to be corrected, because the Master Plan for the city, which incubates its growth, which also became obsolete on 2001 itself, does not approve of the way the city turned out to be.


So, the Supreme Court stepped in, guided by an idiotic piece of land-use rule book (Master Plan 2001) , to pack off more than five lakh traders and another one lakh of entrepreneurs out of the city, governed horribly by the local government as well as by the Central government, because they make the city look bad; aesthetically, architecturally, and gives scary moments to those who dream of the city becoming Paris.


Even poor make the city look bad, isn’t it! Jhuggi-jhopri, lining the city landscape with stinking smell emanating from them, dots the city. Their inhabitants also defecate on the pipeline supplying drinking water to the city. Their children beg at red-lights, make nauseating sights. Many of the anti-social elements also live there. Many of these folks also sleep in night on road-side or under the city flyovers. Sometimes they come under the wheels of the over-drunk kids of the super rich of the city. Though Rs 10,000 get these murderers out of the reach of the long hands of the law, it’a always troublesome to visit police stations and lower courts with such premises having none of the air-conditioners that they can not live without.


So, why the judiciary and the political class do not step in and calls for shooting dead 20 per cent of the population who are at the bottom of the poverty. Welfare state that India is may become a hindrance in executing such a decision as it will bring shame to the nation worldwide. Definitely, great Indians, politicians, bureaucrats, lawyers, lecture all around the world about how great welfare state that India is!


Grow up folks. Czars were thrown up and shot dead by firing squad. Let the city live as it developed into. Knocking at the belly of lakhs of people brigs only upheavals, which sometime may refuse to recognise government and judiciary. It’s never too late to recognise the folly committed and make amends.

Corporate Mandal — a Manmohan reform?

by Manish Anand

(This article appeared in The Hindu (www.thehindu.in) on 28 September 2004. It's put here as it still has relevance)



MANDAL COMES back to haunt the nation once again thanks to the politics of mediocrity. The UPA government has appointed a committee to talk with the corporate world about the modality of introducing reservation for the SCs, STs and the OBCs. The UPA government has also hinted at parliamentary intervention to effect its intention. The message goes loud and clear that the politics is in for a new low.

Ambedkar had reluctantly agreed for reservation just for ten years. The reason behind was the need for an effective empowerment of the weaker sections than going for "quick fix simplistic solutions". The Constitution gave the right to make "positive discrimination" in favour of the weaker sections of society to the government (Ar. 15(2)). But successive governments chose to feast on the politics of populism ignoring the aberrations.

Impact of reservation


The socio-psychological explanation has been that the disadvantaged sections of society need a helping hand to join the mainstream of society. At the same time, years of deprivation instil a sense of incompetence in the psyche of the disadvantaged people. Also, people need to identify with the immediate role model of their own community to act as motivator.

In the realm of public services, it is said that the people of the disadvantaged community are better equipped to empathise with the deprived sections of society and are likely to do better than others for the improvement of their lots.

The social impact of reservation policy has been highly divisive, spreading hatred and discord among people. The assumption that the benefits will percolate down the social strata has been belied, with the affluent classes pocketing them in a major way.

The concept of a creamy layer, applicable only for "other backward castes", has failed to serve any purpose. The culture of guilt that the reservation policy instils in the beneficiaries may also be contributing to the lack of efficiency as well as rampant corruption infecting the system. To instil a culture of pride, the "policies based on positives" complemented with a non-discriminatory procedure is required. And it is pride that keeps people committed and efficient, not otherwise.

Those who suffer because of the reservation policy exhibit "apathy and contempt" and do not identify with the system, contributing to less than the desired performance.

The corporate model


Ironically the initiator of "reform" in the economy with the twin principles of "efficiency and competition" is asking the corporate sector to compromise on the lifeline of the modern economy.

The corporate sector ruthlessly practises the principle of "perform or perish", and that has brought out the best among their employees propelling them to higher standards of excellence. Why should they let the petty politicians wreck their hard built culture of excellence? With the WTO regime around, does the government expect companies to compete tolerating substandard employees on their pay-roll?

Lack of initiative


In the last one decade, economic development has left much to be desired. Regional disparity has led to the compounding of socio-economic malaise, with utter neglect of human resource.

Schools and colleges are still wallowing in the obsolete traditional methodologies removed from the demands of the modern economy. The politicians of the States suffering from a "culture of poverty" find no answer to the unmanageable unemployment, leaving them to harp on the much milked reservation bogey to keep their vote bank intact.

The government and the community leaders had the option to impart the skills and competencies to enable the people to compete and excel with others. The special education scheme imparting traditional knowledge as well as vocational training with industry interface could have been an option to explore. The required socio-psychological support system could have filled the gap in the emotional level. The government chose the bureaucratic approach that distanced it from the needs.

The intervention at the elementary levels lacks the professional requirements. The end result has been a mismatch between the requirements and the provisions. And with failure looking deep into the eyes of the politicians, they find the easy way out to fall back on the policy of reservation.

The response


Industry has shown much enthusiasm in supporting and conserving the initiatives to develop and promote excellence, knowledge, and skills. They have made it clear that if there were sincere efforts in this regard, finance will be no problem at all. Will the polity rise to the occasion and respond to the demands of the people in an objective, imaginative and visionary manner?

(Copyright The Hindu, article in part or in full shall not be published by anyone without authorisation from The Hindu)