Bereft the communalists of their right to represent the common man

I'll not talk about the significance of 'India against corruption movement' and 'Jan lokpal', neither I want to talk about Team Anna, but I would surely want to talk about the trend of intolerance shown publicly by certain people with different ideologies. Prashant Bhushan and Arvind Kejriwal have been savagely attacked in public because of certain statement they issued. Is it a democracy where you are assaulting savagely the people who thinks different from you? Such acts are the legacy of RSS and Shiv Sena kind of groups which has a history of dictating people according to what they think. But in every sense this is not a democracy. And we must decide, as soon as possible, whether we should allow such people to continue or not. Such acts are no less than communalism, and are in fact contagious.

This is a raging question before us that such organisation are protecting the Indian state or are bleeding the very foundation of the Indian state, which is democracy whose very essence is Freedom to Expression. Democracy is run on the intelligence of common man where it chooses its representatives. This common man should be assumed intelligence enough to understand the meaning of certain statement. But such groups do not let the things decided by the common man as they start imposing by force their own thoughts in the pretext of calling it the sentiment of the entire population or at least the community they belong. In this sense they bereft people of their own independent response. Who gave them the authority to assume their authority? It's not their prerogative to enjoy such a previllage. And if somebody has expressed a certain view, it must left to the people to respond independently and non-violently.

Such groups must be stayed away from media, as most of their acts are just to get attention from media for cheap publicity. Also such groups, irrespective of the community they belong, must be held accountable for their acts deleterious to democracy. Such groups, and their acts, are the things of past where the common man was illeterate and too helpless, and somebody was needed to raise its voice. But in modern world people have become educated. They have the ability, and the right too, to respond in their own independent way. So a public opinion must be made to sack such violent groups, and their goons, out of the main stream. Only then we will have a true democracy where everybody has the right to express, and disputes will be settled amiably by parleys.

A Silent Crisis- Incorrigible Error in Nature of Development

The twentieth century has seen consequences unprecedented in history. It’s witnessed two opposite extremes of human efficiency and human malfunctioning. Human efficiency is in terms of scientific revolution vis-a-vis ultra high speed of communication and production, spaceships and extra-terrestrial adventures, bio-medical breakthroughs, genetical and biological achievements and fantasies, Computers and Robotic realities, world turning into a global village and ‘God’ like ability of humans to affect and influence the planetary life. Human malfunctions are in terms of giant flaws we kept ignoring in the process of development like plummeting varieties of species near to extinction, deforestation, rampant pollution in air, water and land, ever increasing rapacious greed for natural resources in each new generation and above all de-association of human feelings from its very roots that lies in the lap of nature, not in any insane attempt of conquering the nature. Twentieth century witnessed the power of human intelligence, though erroneous. But I foresee twenty first century is going to witness power of nature in its most profound way.

According to a new survey 33% of species will be near extinction in 2030. According to IPCC’s latest report Antarctica Ice and Himalayan glacier will melt in next 30 years rendering lands and masses vulnerable to water shortage. Another report says that the global temperature would rise around 2-7 degree C by 2050 which is lethal for many species and formidable enough for humans. According to WHO world population would reach to its peak of 9 billion (a rise of 3 billion in a shortest period of 50 years from year 2000.) that is going to put heavy pressure on world’s agriculture production and will exacerbate the water crisis across the world. Another report gives serious concern to the depletion of forest reserves and around half of the rain-forests would vanish by 2050. A perfunctory glance to these reports may give us the impression that these are different areas of concern in near future. But a close look is sufficient to realize a common thing behind these eye-opening reports which is that Humans and Nature are interconnected. Nature needs our heed and we need nature’s good health. For next coming decades our priority must not be anything but Nature.

INTERNET: An Invention becomes a Blessing

The recent Arabian upheaval is a fresh example of what human rights awareness can do. It can resuscitate the dying cultures by injecting the energy of awareness. Arab countries are witnessing the throes of change after the decades of gloom under the dictatorship. It is the prime reminder of the modern era where human dignity and growth holds power and any attempt to suppress it would have to face dire consequences. Some pacifist may find it against the laws of non-violence, but action and reaction are always bound to be equal. If ruthlessness is at its peak, equally ruthless resurrection could obviously be expected. Science has once again paid its role in changing the course of uprise by providing swift communication between the people. Internet arose as the silent, but stentorian, tool in the hands of common men to express, purge their emotions and also to unite.

It is even said that internet provided the fuel to turn this movement into a colossal upheaval. It helped people to share their grief, which led to a common concern that turned out to be against the government. Government can easily restrain the other modern modes of communication like electronic media and press, but internet has proved like a panacea that is unfettered and can be accessed from home with least government intervention. People were simmering in resentment waiting for just a spark to outburst into. And that spark was provided by the self-immolation of a venderor, frustrated by the repeated torture by the police. The spark did the blast fueled by a common resentment, and mutual communication was provided by this new age benediction of science called Internet.

Populist Budget-Cheated People- Precarious Future

Union budget has been presented by FM. Expecting a prudent action towards social welfare has become like hoping against hope. The allocation of money towards health program is abysmal 0.5 % of entire budget. And education constitutes hardly 3 %. It is indisputable that the most important indicator of human development is the progress in ‘health and education’ of the people. But our conscientious policy makers do not give it its due privilege. They do admit the importance of Health and Education has the paramount indicator of human upliftment but they hardly take concrete steps towards mass health welfare and education program. Though the same government boasts of passing the bill of ‘Right to Education (RTE)’ and ‘National Rural health mission (NRHM), two most ambitious scheme under the aegis of UPA government, but no concrete measure has been taken to ensure their quality ,efficiency and their reach to the supposed beneficiaries. Both the schemes are indubitably meant for the poor people and underprivileged. But mere intentions are not going to solve the deep rooted problem of illiteracy, lack of quality education, malnutrition and access of food at nominal rates to the large section of society.

Let us compare our budget to that of the developed countries. In most of the developed countries including Germany, France, Japan, UK and US, Education and Health together constitute 9-12 % of the total budget. Its 9 % in Japan and 12 % in US. While in India it sticks around 3-4 % only. So how do we compare it. Is it clearly 3-4 times to that of India? No. It’s even worse because size of Indian economy is much smaller than those countries. E.g. US economy is 7 times the size of Indian economy and still their allocation of Health and Education is 4 times to that of India (even when their population is much smaller than India's). So their 12% as compared to india’s 4 % is not just 3 times, it’s rather more than 20 times. So the amount of money US government spends on each individual’s health and education is 20 times higher than it is being spent by Indian government. (Forget about the difference in the value of currency between their and ours, that will make the figure abjectly ignominious). If an average Indian spends Rs. 25,000 every year on health and education, a US citizen spends 5 lac. So quality, including better sanitation, better nutrition, hospitals, better education infrastructure, could obviously be maintained to the best in the world.

Our difference of size of economy will be matched with higher growth rates and that we have. But do we need such a growth rate where actual growth in Health and Education has been neglected. Definitely we don’t want to see a developed but malnourished, rich but poorly educated India. Such an economic growth could be called an aberration or erroneous. It is just unacceptable because in that case it won't be indicating human development. Then it could only serves the elites, with poor penetration to the poor majority. According to Paul Krugman, the eminent economist of US, “if you want to define the success story of US in last century, you can do it with just single word, Education.” In 21^st century it could also be twined with Health. But our policy makers give it only secondary status. So only secondary results would come from it. We don’t have good quality of teachers, we lack infrastructure in school, so how can we expect our children to become scholars and doing research. We have abysmal record of child mortality and malnutrition. Then how can we boast that we are the Youngest Nation in the world when we know that young Indians are the most malnourished people.

I think its time to realize and rectify both the cause and the meaning of growth. A growing society must tantamount to the growing quality education and health of the mass. This is not possible without giving these two their due place in the budget. It must be somewhere near the respectable figure of 10% (of GDP). Only then we will have enough funds to build better school and health centers, we will be able to give handsome salary to our teachers, scholars and research associates, government can take the burden of providing education loan to its lowest possible interest, subsidized medicines and health check-ups could be made available to the poor, nutritional records could be regularly monitored and maintained in schools, even in government schools of remote areas with the help of technology, and other innumerable aspects that are not possible without funds. Because Healthy and Educated people are higher treasure than Gold mines and Petroleum wells. Giving 3% of total budget is like making mockery of the people of India to bereft them of their Primary rights, and that also year after year. It must be raised atleast to the decent level by doubling it in next budget. And I believe it could be easily arranged by compromising a bit in other departments, its because no other department is as important as people’s Health and Education. I hope situation would ameliorate in the successive budgets and human’s most significant development aspect would get its due place.

Union Budget: A Repeatitive Juvenile mistake

Each year Union budget is presented in Lok Sabha by Finance Minister (FM). Each year there is plethora of new announcements and schemes, which appears more a sycophancy of elite rather than concrete solutions, juxtaposed with brief announcement of fiscal deficit. I want to shed light on pseudo-significance of the kind of budget that is being presented and passed in Lok Sabha. If you give money to a housewife for the domestic expenditure of an year, she can tell the each minute detail involving gains and Losses and can tell you the reason behind a failure of particular investment. Not only this, she will modify her demand for the next year expenditure as result of last year's experience. If a common housewife can analyze all the reasoning behind the expenses with finesse, what's wrong with the policy makers and our economists. Either they are juvenile or are too reluctant to ameliorate.

I've never heard in any budget when last budget's failures, and flaws, have been told along with the reasons and what measures have been taken to avoid any previous repetition next year. If FM can't tell its people the percentage of success, also region-wise, along with the definition of success for a particular policy, how the public would come to know that a particular policy is worth continuing.

For example if government has implemented Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment guarantee Act(MGNREGA) and mentions in each successive budget just the amount involved in the scheme, with no concern to the hitherto percentage of success, what better it can achieve in next year in continuation. Government increases the amount of money involved in this scheme. But it's reluctant to tell the people in which region it is being implemented successfully and in which region it is a fiasco. Because no scheme can have the same result in each region of the country. Thus the next obvious question would arise as what are the reason behind the success or failure also in the particular regions. Along with that which section of the society has been benefited the most, again along with the reasons. Then in the next step we seek the solutions towards overcoming those hurdles and accordingly we change the policy and guide the money. But this involve a culture of revaluation and reviewing, which would be there if those in policy making are anyhow concerned with the common man.

I dont think it's of any use announcing budget, a cliche, each year and just cutting the corners by dividing the money given towards different departments and policies. We need a budget that is based on the research done by the analysts with judicious amendments each year. Let it not be an act of sycophancy of Aam-aadmi. It must contain everything that could ascertain long term welfare of Aam-aadmi. Such bedget is of no-significance.