Musings of a liberal.

[murali]

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dear goundamani,
thank you for the link to mugamadi.sincerely regretted for not learning tamil at school.(arasanai nambi purusanai vitta kathai)

 

[mrifan]

If you say it a 1000 times, it can actually become TRUE!!!

Dear Sir,

One must take a positive view of things. Must we not appreciate that within 60 years of independance, our country has risen from the dumps of ignorance, disease, poverty and fraction politics to a modern and secular and progressive nation ?

The problem is the lack of benchmarks. One should look at other nations which were even poorer than India, like South Korea, Taiwan, China, Thailand, Singapore etc in 1950. Sure a snail can be proud that it covered 1 meter in 1 day, but it is a self-delusional exercise. The rest of the world has moved on, and if Africa was not mired in conflict, it would have moved on as well. India is still near the bottom of the UN development index, because of the strong communist streak, and the belief in shortcuts in everything in life. After 60 years of hataoing the garibi, there are hundreds of millions of more garib today.

I am not an apologist of reservation and neither a supporter of casteism but I give credit to the foresight of the authors of the constitution who have allowed the state to lend a helping hand to the socially downtrodden people to come up and catch with the rest. 2000 years of social oppression can not be undone in mere 60 years of reservation. Positive reservation in favour of weak and oppressed is found in many other countries.

As I said in my previous post in a reply to the same question by the same gentleman here:

http://www.tamilbrahmins.com/showthread.php?p=3623#post3623

a. State-by-state this is happening. By putting a pro-rata and proportionate share of assets and resources of the society in to the hands of the have-nots, the democratically elected governments are trying to restore parity.

Umm, talking about TN, how exactly are 69% of the land-owning, industry-owning castes considered have-nots? That is the problem with libertarian, confused, commies like you. The demo version of any education /job quota meant for the camera will invariably show some poor farmer or rickshaw puller meant to pile on the guilt-trip, but the real beneficiaries will be the have-alls (read affluent layer). Very few quota champions respond when confronted with the exposure of this typical bait-and-switch, and I bet this commie-libertarian mongrel will also do the same :rockon:

Reservation apologists will NEVER, EVER, answer the above questions. I think there are some set patterns in the brain which automatically switch off the cortex, the part which deals with logic, and instead triggers the amygdala when this question comes up. They will continue the same old lie a thousand times in a thousand places in the hope that it will become the truth! Again, the question is how come the number of "backward" communities has grown every decade until it is now an absurd Ripley's believe-it-or-not 96.5% of the population? Somebody call the Guiness book of world records! Only in India, and Indians, can such a complete suspension of coherent logical thinking happen. As I predicted before, I can predict again that even after this post, there will be no response to this issue, and in yet another post this same propaganda about how reservation in TN is meant to help the "WEAKER SECTIONS" will continue. This propaganda is spectacularly successful, and one must compliment the Dravidian parties for a masterful spin. They must have found some kind of brain wave pattern that the combination of words "social justice", "weaker sections", "downtrodden", "reservation" etc evokes, and completely short-circuits the recognition of one of the fundamental phrases in most developed constitutions around the world; "All citizens will be treated equally by the government".

I wish I knew PHP, then I could write a script which will scan for the standard Dravidian script of reservation for "weaker sections" and post a response automatically. Maybe, just maybe, one of the communists will actually look at it. Maybe, please, maybe, please please please? ray:

 

[lotus_quartz]

My dear friend mrifan,

My compliments to you on your endless efforts to shoot down my arguments. I hope you will succeed one day. Until such time, allow me to straighten out things for the benefit of all and sundry:

1. Did we really progress during last 60 years?
We Indians suffer from a typical form of inferiority complex: we fail to appreciate our own virtues and successes until the white man says so. Which other country in the world has population rocketing from 45 Crores (in 1947) to 109 Cr. (2007) but still grew and prospered as much as we did excepting China? China is a slightly different case and I will come to it later. Can you not see that no where else in the world you will find such disparate group of people speaking 14 listed languages, 500 other languages and 2500 dialects , followers of 7 major religions and progenies of a mixed race of multitudes of ethnic stock (dravids, caucasians, mongoloids, huns, persians, arabs, negritos.......) have stuck together as a single nation and upheld the flag of democracy and free world in spite of poverty, disease, fractious politics and many other ills including the heinous caste system? I agree that presently we figure at 134 th. slot (out of 189 nations in the HDI survey of UNO) way behind our next door neighbour Sri Lanka at 101 th slot. Agreed. We need to do better and do it faster. But our progress is in no way less impressive than that of Korea, Singapore and many other countries.

2. Reservation?

Your intense hatred to reservation policy of government is probably due to extreme situation prevailing in TN where in spite of high percentage of reservations, the benefits are hogged by the economic affluent sections of backwards leaving the real and poor backward in the lurch and the TAMBRAMS being used as the favourite whipping boy. The reservations were meant for people at the real bottom of the social ladder who are still left out due to the faulty implementation mechanism. But this does not mean that the reservation policy has failed elsewhere. Probably you have never ventured out of your agraharam and tried to see the condition of the oppressed people who inhabit at least 20 states of the Indian Union, eke out a sub-human existence and have no where to go and no one to turn to and are destined to die with not a ray of hope. Talking of equal fight for equal opportunities among unequal people is at the best a self serving narcissist argument and at the worst selfishness of the highest order.

3. You have mentioned in your response -- "As I predicted before, I can predict again that even after this post, there will be no response to this issue, and in yet another post this same propaganda about how reservation in TN is meant to help the "WEAKER SECTIONS" will continue."

Your penchant for making predictions is touching. Please note that TN alone does not mean India. Please enlighten yourself to the fact that the broad framework of reservations policy was crafted by 511 wise Indians who were members of constitution assembly. Their overpowering desire to do something meaningful for the oppressed and the left outs and their intense guilt feeling of being a party to oppressive social system must have caused the founding fathers of the nation and the republic to recommend and enshrine reservations which at extraneous level contradicts the 'equality before the law' concept but at an intrinsic level is in fact trying to achieve 'equality before the law in real terms'. Incidentally, reservations were proposed for 30 Years only and extendible thereafter by amendment to constitution.


4. Your usage of terms and phrases like ..."I bet this commie-libertarian mongrel" , ...."Nahin to laat maar kar yehaan se nikaal doonga..."...

I beleive the debate here was to objectively and dispassionately analyse the situation and counter arguments with superior rejoinders and better arguments. In the bargain, It is unfortunate that you have allowed yourself to be emotionally rattled and make your class and calibre exhibited openly.

Has it occurred to you that using expletives and name calling is not the exclusive preserve of yours but could be found elsewhere also?

 

[mrifan]

Honesty and forthrightness

It is said that first step to improving oneself is to be able to look objectively at oneself, and gather the facts before taking the steps towards improvement. Also history is a good guide, it provides a sense of balance, and also a set of experiences that one can learn from.

India had a population of approximately 30 crores in 1931, according to the Mandal census. Even if one assumes that 90% of Indians were poor then, in absolute terms, many hundreds of millions more impoverished Indians exist today, far more than the number in 1931. No other country has added poor people at the rate India has. What happened to the decades old program of "Garibi Hatao"? Is there any data as to its effectiveness? Population rise alone cannot be the only reason. As an extreme example, Japan is more densely populated than India now and suffered almost complete devastation just 60 years ago with a debilitating loss of population. The tripling of their population has actually led to increasing living standards for everyone. What did they do that 40 years of the "Garibi Hatao" has failed to achieve? Even now some Indian villagers say things used to be better when the British left.

This introspection, and data-driven approach and planning is absent from the general Indian populace, and by inference, our "elected" representatives. Barring certain African countries, can someone name any other country with such a high proportion of convicted criminals like Lalu Prasad Yadav, Shibu Soren, Mulayam Yadav etc occupying the highest governing body in the country? Can a governing body consisting of law-breakers actually function as law-givers or law-enforcers?

The situation in the State assemblies is even worse, people with blood on their hands sit in power. What kind of values and vision will they bring to the running of the nation? Honesty and forthrightness is absent from the vast majority of the national landscape today. One may frown on comparisons, but how else to rate progress? Progress is anyway relative. What prevents India from declaring itself a developed nation tomorrow? Is citing "progress" (in adding hundreds of millions more poverty-stricken Indians) based on internal benchmarks enough?

The reason that reservations (particularly absurd ones like 69% to affluent groups) are very dangerous is that once they make their way into the fundamental governing charter like the Constitution, they enshrine the principle that the govt can and should discriminate. It is even more dangerous when charlatans like Lalu and Ramadoss wield power. Especially when there is no data-driven approach. Not a single community has been declared "forward", instead more and more communities are becoming "backward". What is wrong with this picture here? Where is the progress? Churchill was very prophetic. Govt is supposed to treat everyone equally, otherwise a democracy turns into a mobocracy. If everything is to be proportionately distributed, who determines the proportions? In the case of SC/ST, how can 2 seats in "Chemical Engg" in one college be divided between a Pallan, Paraiyar, Nari Kurava, Devendra Kula Vellalar, etc, who are all SC. The Govt should not be in the business of determining such things. All it can and should do is to enforce equal opportunity in all spheres of public life. What if tomorrow there is a quota of 69% for Hindi-speaking people in India in education and jobs? This is a dead-end, and India is going to fall further behind at this rate. Already in TN Dravidian circles, there is talk of introducing SC/ST and OBC reservations in the private sector, and in awarding Govt contracts. This is what happens once the door is opened to faulty thinking. What chance does a poor Bihari Kurmi OBC have against the "backward" powerful TN Dravidian castes competing for the same IIT seat? I am for all castes having equal opportunity all over the nation.

And coming to another matter, if people were to read my previous post carefully, it should be obvious I was using phrases like "commie mongrel" and "laat marunga" in jest. It was just a sardonic style of writing. If anyone found that offensive, I apologize. I will be more careful, since it is usually hard to make out the tone in written form.

 

[Shanti Brahm]

Good Post Mrifan

Three cheers to Mrifan!!!

Thanks for stating quite clearly for anyone who bothers to be honest with themselves what is clearly wrong with the Indian system.:first:

Indian govt is in everybodys private life and still can't help nation progress. 'Bout time they left us alone and give EQUAL OPPORTUNITY to ALL!!!

 

[goundamani]

What is the criteria for a caste to get classified as scheduled caste and scheduled tribe?Well...I was surprised to know under Indian constitution, a caste should satisfy the following criteria to be classified as scheduled caste or scheduled tribe.

Legal identification of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes

Selection criteria for scheduled castes
1. Cannot be served by clean Brahmans
2. Cannot be served by the barbers, water-carriers, tailors, etc. who serve the caste Hindus
3. Pollutes a high-caste Hindu by contact or by proximity
4. Is one from whose hands a caste Hindu cannot take water
5. Is debarred from using public amenities such as roads, ferries, wells, or schools
6. Will not be treated as an equal by high-caste men of the same educational qualification in ordinary social intercourse
7. Is depressed on account of the occupation followed and, but for that, occupation would be subject to no social disability


Selection criteria for scheduled tribes
1. Tribal origin
2. Primitive ways of life and habitation in remote and less accessible areas
3. General backwardness in all respects

Source: Constitution of India​

 

[silverfox]

Let me ask you, friends, a dumb question: Can a poor brahmin go to the Taluk office and change his caste as BC?
Thanks!

 

[mrifan]

Would one want to?

To me it would mean defeat and capitulation to the Dravidian snakes. For a Brahmana, the bribe may be quoted at a higher rate, but in India anything is possible! Did you know recently Tehelka or some news organization was able to obtain an OBC certificate for Vajpayee, a Dalit certificate for Modi and other politicians? The corrupt tehsildars did not even look at the names on the certificates they were stamping! I read somewhere that the rate was 2000 Rupees.

But I feel this is a dangerous path for Brahmanas to follow. The importance of honesty, abstinence from meat and vices, personal hygiene, and sense of duty, familiarity with the achaaram anushtaanam, and marrying within the community must be emphasized, for I feel these values and genetic traits are the real wealth that Brahmanas can pass on their future generations. Money will come and go, but values are everlasting. Some money is necessary of course, as long as there is enough to make a decent living, but the day Brahmanas completely lose their values and intermarry at will, the cunning Dravidian politicians will have achieved everything they wanted.

 

[lotus_quartz]

Van Der Vaals's equation of 6 dimensional freedom of movement

Ii is said that some sects of Brahmins figure in ST list of Himachal Pradesh (especially the Tehri-Garhwal regions, Laddakh, Lahaul-Spiti etc.)

It would be an interesting exercise to investigate the legal position with respect to what happens when an individual tries to : 1. Undeclare himself or dis-associate himself from FC category & 2. Re-declare himself as belonging to BC category.

Let me ask you, friends, a dumb question: Can a poor brahmin go to the Taluk office and change his caste as BC?
Thanks!

 

[silverfox]

Lotus_quartz and mrifan:
Thank you for your postings. There was a method to my madness when I posed that question of a poor Brahmin changing his caste to a BC or MBC or whatever the hell it is. I was trying to show how silly this whole reservation is and that how the BC and MBC politicians are manipulating this issue and making a mockery of the whole thing. The sad part is that the SCs/STs are the one who are losing out but they are siding with these MBC politicians, such as the Marans who probably own half of Chennai! Their hold on cable (one must buy a setup box thru Sun TV to watch any quality programs) is scandulous.
mrifan: Let me play the devil's advocate: So what if a poor brahmin changes his caste to a MBC just to get ahead; he will still be a brahmin and will be doing brahminical things.

Listen guys! this reservation issue has gotten to a phase where the whole country will be in the reservation - christians, muslims, sikhs, buddhists... have I left out anybody? To quote Mr. Narayanaswamy of Infosys: India is the only country where people fight to be named as Backward!!

 

[kabali]

Let me ask you, friends, a dumb question: Can a poor brahmin go to the Taluk office and change his caste as BC?
Thanks!

There is nothing wrong in doing this. Even a well known columnist in Rediff suggested this.

 

[mrifan]

Dr. Silverfox,

While it is true that a poor Brahmana can achieve the illusion of getting ahead by resorting to such tactics, I feel this is not the long term solution. I think the long-term solution is to fight for justice and equal opportunity in education and jobs to all Indians. Brahmanas were massacred and their women raped by Mughals for many centuries. I feel the community survives to this day only because many still stuck to their values and refused to give up their traditions and culture. It would have been easy to abandon the principles and convert to Mohammedanism and join in the general way of raping, killing, looting and suppressing others. But look at where they are now. Nobody is jealous of them anymore, and they have fallen behind. Bharatiyar rejected his Brahmana identity and joined the "rationalists", but there is very little mention of him today, especially under the present administration.

Brahmans have a responsibility and a duty to preserve traditions and their own culture. They are adapting, and continue to be successful somehow, and need to adapt further to a globalized world, in which the only final determining factor will be the innate ability and attitude towards work. Taking short-cuts and promoting dishonesty should not be encouraged. One cousin of mine went to the CA profession because of reservations, and he brought his traditional honesty and other ethics to a Mudaliar owned company. In fact the Mudaliar trusts him more than anyone else even though some Mudaliars are at the forefront of the Dravida OBC movement! What would have happened if he had instead cheated and tried to get a degree by getting another certificate? I feel one wrong should not be justified by another wrong. The whole society suffers due to injustice and short-cut mentality. There is always another, honest, way. Also, Brahmanas should help other poor Brahmanas out as much as possible, which this site is doing by raising funds etc.

 

[goundamani]

A good article on caste names.

A good feedback on intercaste marriages

 

[murali]

goundamani sir,
your link on inter caste marriages not working.

 

[mrifan]

Importance of values

The role of values is often questioned, with the claim that everything is relative. If that is the case, why are countries like Nigeria and many parts of India so unpleasant to live in, while the western countries so much more attractive to live in? The importance of values cannot be overstated. It has a tangible impact on the very well-being and comfort and competitiveness of a society, as well as the intangible feeling of living in a pleasant, mannered and clean surroundings.

When even President Kalam (a Muslim) is able to appreciate the values ensconced in the Veda and Upanishads, it is sad to see people deprecating their relevance in today's world as being "not modern". Here is the link to President Kalam's speech:

http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/feb/01kalam1.htm
"Though I am not an expert in Sanskrit, I have many friends who are proficient in Sanskrit. Sanskrit is a beautiful language. It has enriched our society from time immemorial. Today many nations are trying to research Sanskrit writings which are there in our ancient scriptures. I understand that there is a wealth of knowledge available in Sanskrit which scientists and technologists are finding today," he said.
"There is a need to carry out research on our Vedas, particularly Atharvana Veda, for eliciting valuable information in science and technology relating to medicine, flight sciences, material sciences and many other related fields. Cryptology is another area where Sanskrit language is liberally used," he added.

One always wonders why credit card rates and personal loan rates are so high in India compared to other Western countries. Here is the explanation:

http://businessstandard.com/common/storypage.php?leftnm=2&subLeft=1&autono=273545&tab=r

Defaults in both personal loans and credit card receivables are estimated to be around 15 per cent. Banks will decide to raise the already high interest rates on credit card receivables the moment loan defaults begin to rise. Individual borrowers also pay for defaulters as banks take a view on interest rates on every product – be it personal loans or home loans – going by their experience on defaults. Banks keep interest rates at a level that ensures payments by good customers cover for the defaults by a section of borrowers. Banks have been witnessing increasing defaults in personal loans and credit card receivables categories and this could prove to be very expensive for good borrowers, who have to pay up (read ‘pay dearly’) for the sin committed by bad borrowers.
Why are Indian roads so dirty and chaotic? It is primarily because unlike the saying "Suddham sukam tarum", most people do not care about throwing trash on the streets, even when trash bins are just a few meters away. People take shortcuts without noticing that if everyone is taking shortcuts, the road becomes clogged for everyone.

Also one can clearly notice that African countries and India correlate very highly in terms of corruption, weak judicial system, politicized police force and short-cut mentality. Values really do make a huge difference in terms of the society one wants to live in.

 

[mrifan]

More on values

Poverty is not some kind of mysterious ailment that affects a geographical area. It is truly man-made. Systemic inefficiencies and losses rob a society of potential and productivity. Societal values have a large role to play in this this. Why is everything so expensive in India? Why is infrastructure so poor? Why is it in general so unpleasant to live in India? Why does one get the feeling that everyone is out to cheat them somehow or other no matter where one goes in India? The Economist has a fairly detailed explanation of some of the causes. It makes for a highly interesting read. It also explains why emigration from India will continue far into the future. A couple of excerpts follow.

http://economist.com/finance/displaystory.cfm?story_id=8625681

...
...

India's government has ambitious plans to increase total infrastructure spending to 8% of GDP over the next five years. This will involve some increase in government spending, but the idea is for the bulk of it to be financed by public-private partnerships. That will be hard.
Private investors, especially foreign ones, still shy away from sectors like electricity and roads because they are uncertain of earning a reasonable return. Only about half of all electricity generated is paid for, because power is stolen and bills are left unpaid.
...
...
A third big problem is the dreadful quality of public services, from education and health to the provision of water. Half of urban households lack drinking water within the home; one quarter have no access to a toilet, either public or private. Many public services in cities have worsened in recent years. In Bangalore water is now available for less than three hours a day, compared with 20 hours in the early 1980s. This may be another reason why workers are not moving in from rural areas as rapidly as in China.
Nor are young Indians equipped for more productive jobs in the towns. The quality of education and health care is dire. A survey in 2003 found that only half of paid teachers were actually teaching during school hours. Another survey found that government health centres in poor parts of Delhi had a more than 50% chance of prescribing a harmful therapy for common ailments.

 

[kudumi]

Might I add a few more words?

The role of values is often questioned, with the claim that everything is relative. If that is the case, why are countries like Nigeria and many parts of India so unpleasant to live in, while the western countries so much more attractive to live in? The importance of values cannot be overstated. It has a tangible impact on the very well-being and comfort and competitiveness of a society, as well as the intangible feeling of living in a pleasant, mannered and clean surroundings.

When even President Kalam (a Muslim) is able to appreciate the values ensconced in the Veda and Upanishads, it is sad to see people deprecating their relevance in today's world as being "not modern". Here is the link to President Kalam's speech:

http://www.rediff.com/news/2007/feb/01kalam1.htm
"Though I am not an expert in Sanskrit, I have many friends who are proficient in Sanskrit. Sanskrit is a beautiful language. It has enriched our society from time immemorial. Today many nations are trying to research Sanskrit writings which are there in our ancient scriptures. I understand that there is a wealth of knowledge available in Sanskrit which scientists and technologists are finding today," he said.
"There is a need to carry out research on our Vedas, particularly Atharvana Veda, for eliciting valuable information in science and technology relating to medicine, flight sciences, material sciences and many other related fields. Cryptology is another area where Sanskrit language is liberally used," he added.

One always wonders why credit card rates and personal loan rates are so high in India compared to other Western countries. Here is the explanation:

http://businessstandard.com/common/storypage.php?leftnm=2&subLeft=1&autono=273545&tab=r

Defaults in both personal loans and credit card receivables are estimated to be around 15 per cent. Banks will decide to raise the already high interest rates on credit card receivables the moment loan defaults begin to rise. Individual borrowers also pay for defaulters as banks take a view on interest rates on every product – be it personal loans or home loans – going by their experience on defaults. Banks keep interest rates at a level that ensures payments by good customers cover for the defaults by a section of borrowers. Banks have been witnessing increasing defaults in personal loans and credit card receivables categories and this could prove to be very expensive for good borrowers, who have to pay up (read ‘pay dearly’) for the sin committed by bad borrowers.
Why are Indian roads so dirty and chaotic? It is primarily because unlike the saying "Suddham sukam tarum", most people do not care about throwing trash on the streets, even when trash bins are just a few meters away. People take shortcuts without noticing that if everyone is taking shortcuts, the road becomes clogged for everyone.

Also one can clearly notice that African countries and India correlate very highly in terms of corruption, weak judicial system, politicized police force and short-cut mentality. Values really do make a huge difference in terms of the society one wants to live in.

Actually, I can go one step further and add that Money itself is a myth. Richness is also a myth. Economic prosperity based on natural resorces is a myth.

What is the real richness then? Its between the ears of the people. As long as it is utilised effectively and efficiently, the nation becomes rich.

Take countries like Japan, South Korea, Singapore etc...its not the the geographical area, or the natural resources that make them rich..its the value systems they have, distribution of wealth and opportunities, equality of all men, survival of the fittest. Even the richest countries in Europe are rich because of the utilisation of man power.

While the western governments are liberal enough to extend a state welfare to the needy, any abuse is severly penalised. Everybody is accountable, and everybody is answerable. In cases like India, every Tom Dick and Harry can get a free TV and do nothing for getting it except voting. Its living on this "dharmam podara" mentality indiscriminately, the country is not coming up. And politicians are a breed of spineless creatures, who cannot be held accountable at all.
Its the laws, the system, or the process, that is important and not the whims and fancies of the individuals.

Bureucracy has gone beyond control that, it consumes itself in running itself. I was lauging at an episode in futurama where one of the characters when firing an employee says "bring the forms that I need to sign to fire her" . Here we say bring the forms I need to sign to sign these forms )).

 

[hariharan1972]

What ails India ?

Poverty is not some kind of mysterious ailment that affects a geographical area. It is truly man-made. Systemic inefficiencies and losses rob a society of potential and productivity. Societal values have a large role to play in this this. Why is everything so expensive in India? Why is infrastructure so poor? Why is it in general so unpleasant to live in India? Why does one get the feeling that everyone is out to cheat them somehow or other no matter where one goes in India?

I haven't gone thru the Economist article....So without going thru that, i feel like responding as follows

1. The fundamental problem in India / with Indians is that we "romanticise" everything - poverty, uncleanliness, system failure etc.....We get lost in the feeling that "India is a poor nation with rich values". Yes, Indian value system is a leading light in many areas but we have allowed it to blind us into believing that only "value systems" are enough for well being.

2. We are not an aggressive nation. We don't grab the half-chances and don't convert one time opportunities into permanent ones

3. "Chalta hai" culture. Everything/Anything is acceptable. On one hand we are proud about our value systems and on the other hand we are the biggest culprits so far as bringing dis-repute to it.

4. Ineffective legal system. Reams & Reams of Acts, Schedules, Notifications, Show Cause notices. End result - Zilch. Comparing the legal systems of select nations it is said that – In US anything which is not specifically prohibited is permitted ; In Italy anything which is prohibited is ALWAYS permitted; In China anything permitted is also prohibited while in Mera Bharat Mahan everything is permitted till you are caught !!!!

5. Multi-Polar, Short-sighted political system.

6. “Dole culture”. Latest additions are free TV, Gas etc.. but even in the past we had free power, free seeds, free manure, subsidies sarees, dhotis & what not. Families who have lost someone after drinking “Spurious Liqour” – one of the biggest claimants of the dole atleast in TN. “Swaraj” is my birthright said Tilak ; now “Dole raj” is my constituitional right says our Indian.

7. Talent ‘Choking’. We don’t lose any opportunity to choke, frustrate, irritate, deny & make life generally difficult for anyone who has the talent & worst still has the inclination to do something for the country.

8. Ofcourse the ubiquitous divisions – caste, sub-caste, creed, ethnic, linguistic, north vs south, male vs female, urban vs rural, metro vs non metro. I can’t think of anything which can unite our nation more than cricket. (Actually I feel it is worth playing one day matches all 365 days of the year. We could get into a rate contract with Bangladesh, Kenya, Zimbabwe)

9. Grandeur Plan – Goli Execution. We first plan, then….plan, then………..plan, then……………………plan, then…………………………………………………..plan. I mean if only we can put all our plan papers to the US raddiwala, we can perhaps knock off some 10% of our Debt ?????

10. Absence of a sense of General safety – How could we feel safe with Pakistan, Bangladesh, ULFA, Kashmir, Naxalites around ? How could we ever focus on development if we aren’t sure of what’s in store next day ?

Members may argue that which nation doesn’t have such/these problems ? Yes..no nation is picture perfect. But they have a leadership which has a vision and is on a mission….but here, we are yet to settle “fundamental issues” of Equal opportunity, Freedom of choice, feeling of “oneness”

The surging economy while one may argue is not a sheer fluke, it will equally not be correct to say that it is by design. What keeps the wheels of Indian economy well oiled could be the fact that the world is viewing India as a huge “arbitrage opportunity”. Till when is the big question? Once the arbitrage is lost, do we have a fallback….Sadly the answer is a NO.