WHAT IRKS INDIA'S POLITICIANS

While the word corruption irks the common man because it is the biggest impediment in his march towards end of poverty and miseries, the same word corruption irks the Indian politicians because it is the sole lifeline to their ability to earn a livelihood, to win elections, to come to power and to retain power.The political class as a whole takes a very strong exception when such comparisons are made but do not support any measure that could control corruption even in a small manner.

For achieving success in their lofty dubious goal of not allowing any controls on the demon of corruption, the evergreen goose that lays golden eggs for them, they sing the song of danger to democracy, danger to constitution, danger to principles of jurisprudence in complete harmony and unison. They have the power at their beck and call  to subvert and negate small actions by odd bold bureaucrats to rein in individual cases of corruption, a system under their thumb to neutralize bigger scams and legislative powers to annihilate even the observations/ rulings of judiciary.

And all this in the name of governance and policy making. Following actions and utterances of the polity during the last two years go a long way in showing the glaring differences in the perception of corruption mitigation of a common man and that of the rulers.

• Handling of Lok Pal Bill : The society wants it. All politicians want it as a public posture but nobody wants it in actual. In fact no body can deny the fact that An insincere polity is the crude Indian reality and it will never its own hands with any of its actions.
• Political parties under the Right to Information Act ( RTI ). The national government and the congress has been boasting for bringing in RTI but when Central Information Commission brought political parties under the ambit of this act, the same party along with all others has introduced a bill in Lok Sabha to keep political parties out of the purview of RTI act. Divided on everything else, political parties unite against RTI act as corruption and corrupt practices are their fundamental right.

• Supreme court directions on decriminalisation of poltics
• Supreme court directions to poll panel to act against election time freebies
• Giving autonomy to Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI ), the caged parrot speaking in its master's voice.
• Politicians do not want Comptroller and Auditor General ( CAG ) to keep a check on their dubious deeds,so much so that most of them say that CAG has no right to challenge government policies  even though they may be deleterious to the national interest and bordering on the realm of corruption and corrupt practices.

SOLAR ENERGY: BEST BET FOR INCLUSIVE GROWTH

The Indian government's thrust on inclusive growth is laudable and it is well known that growth, prosperity, healthcare, education and improvement in living conditions are all dependent on availability of power and an energy security model based on large power producing plants and a massive transmission and distribution system is neither viable nor feasible in rural areas whether remote or otherwise. A city conglomerate with a population of  about 2 million and an area of about 200 sq. kms is a concentrated pocket requiring something like 200 MW of electricity and the costs incurred on bringing in electricity from a large power plant 150 to 200 kms away can be justified but imagine a rural cluster of 5 villages in the same area with a population of  may be 5000 and an energy requirement of  5 - 10 MW can hardly justify the costs of being on a national grid system. India today needs many fold increase in its energy generation to cover all industrialization and households electrification needs. Firstly, this quantum of energy requirement cannot be met without resorting to renewable energy sources and secondly putting a national grid in place to cover all nooks and corners of the country may not materialize in the coming few decades even if the country decides to forget the cost, commercial aspects and the economy of energy production, transmission and distribution. Power engineers and policy makers anywhere must never forget that solar is simple, keep it simple to retain its edge when looking for solutions to energy security. It is because of such concerns and considerations of giving boost to rural industrialization that Brasil, Indonesia and now Zambia has opted for Solar energy to boost rural industrialization.

Of late the government of India has started realizing the importance of development of solar energy and it has proposed a target of 20000 mw by the end of 13th five year plan, though too little and too slow in view of the potential and advantages of basing India's energy security entirely on renewable energy concepts. The Indian prime minister has asked Bharat Heavy Electricals ( BHEL ) to take lead in developing solar power technology. It will be wonderful if other engineering giants are also involved in this national endeavor to make India into a global leader in the field of power from renewable energy sources. It was equally heartening to note that Dr Kakodkar, former chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, one of the most vociferous advocates of nuclear energy has bracketed solar along with nuclear for the ultimate energy security of the country. Nuclear energy is debatable and a very contentious issue in the light of false safety promises and likelihood of catastrophic accidents. In comparison solar has no thorns attached to it and easily emerges as the only wise option. It is not just for nothing that many advanced countries are putting in all their eggs in the basket of renewable energy, so much so that their yearly additions to power from renewable energy sources are to the tune of 4000 mw and higher and solar power being the highest contributor.
The whole world takes cognizance of the fact that India   is  at  the  thresh  hold  of  a  huge  step forward to become one of the economic super powers of  21st century because of a huge opportunity knocking on its doors with a combination of favourable factors like vast technical and management  human  resource at much lower expense,  an  awesome demography  advantage   coupled   with   an enormous demand for all kind of consumer goods, infrastructure, housing and healthcare needs even if one talks about extending  the benefits of development to a level of reasonably good living as per the European standards to the 1 billion plus population of the country. Add to this the need and inner desire on the part of all nations to shift over to renewable energy sources for energy security because of global environmental concerns and finite nature of all fuel based energy. Total reliance and a super thrust on renewable energy is a must for India becoming a global leader and the sheer magnitude of India's additional power requirements in the coming two decades should prompt the country's leadership to find solutions which can give the country leadership in newer power technologies for all times to come.

CORRUPTION, THE HARBINGER OF PROSPERITY FOR CHOSEN FEW AND MISERY FOR BILLION PLUS

Corruption is the sole lifeline of existence of Indian polity. It governs their ability to earn a livelihood, their ability to win elections, the ability to come to power and even their ability to retain power. And all this under the garb of politics. As it is the word politics was and has never been a very honorable word in the society. Its connotations have always been far from positive. From time to time it has been defined in a very polished but realistic manner

"It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first". Ronald Reagen

No guesses for naming the oldest profession, it is well known to every individual but what is the role of a politician in this profession. Is it that of the client, broker or the sex worker. One dare not hazard a guess for all the three will take exception to being compared with a politician

"Politics is the last resort for the scoundrels"George Bernard Shaw

To what extent these statements are true in the other countries but in India it is not last but first refuge of any and every scoundrel. It is not a coincidence that out of 776 Members of Parliament (MP's) and 4120 state legislatures ( MLA's), more than 30% have criminal cases regarding murder, attempt to murder, robbery, dacoity, etc pending against them. And why not? For this is the only profession that can make a hero out of an antisocial element, let his illegal wealth grow, provide some dignity to such impudent louts possessed of almost no virtue and help them tremendously in hoodwinking the law of the land and allow them  going scot-free on  technical grounds or through benefit of doubt. There are a  number of  occasions when MLAs and MPs from  jails were  brought to legislative houses and  parliament so as to  save the Government of  the day. Such is  the value and  importance of these elements (with their tonnes of black money, goonda power, and vote garnering capabilities) to even the saints in politics that these saints not only close their eyes to their black deeds but let them grow exponentially in their black deeds.

In recent times the nation has been a mute witness to the absolute unholy alliance of almost entire polity of the country to defeat following watershed decisions that could have have changed the corruption scenario in a very big way which in turn could have revolutionized the course of development of the country and above all the poverty alleviation which is ironically the sole declared aim of each and every political worker.

• Lok Pal Bill
• Political parties under the Right to information act
• Supreme court directions on banning criminal elements for contesting of elections and continuing as legislatures
• Giving autonomy to Central Bureau of Investigation ( CBI )

The agony of the nation lies in the fact that instead of doing something concrete to find an end to this malaise of corruption, the entire polity of the country  has come together, in fact to find ways and means/ flimsy excuses to 

not let anything happen in the right direction. For them the guiding principles are that 

• No harm should come to even a single imaginary righteous man ( righteous not because he is honest but because he could manipulate to escape conviction for lack of evidence or legal loopholes) even if 100% of legislature gets occupied by corrupt and criminals.
• And once a powerful man manages to hoodwink legal process, his integrity becomes impeccable and he can occupy even the most sensitive position.I wonder why the same yardstick is not applicable to bureaucracy where even an iota of doubt on one's integrity can have far reaching consequences.

THE NAKED TRUTH ABOUT ( FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENT ) FDI

The Indian government unleashes big bang ( Foreign Direct Investment ) FDI reforms and the same have been termed as game changing reforms by all those who have sacrificed their intelligence, conscience and ability to speak for truth at the altar of ruling combine and a hoax by all those who have dumped all these positive human traits  in the basket of opposition. It is a pity that not even a single individual from amongst the total polity of the country dare put things in the correct perspective without singing the song of his affiliation.

Firstly, let us all be very clear that poverty alleviation will happen with growth and growth alone which can come only through huge investments in the next gen growth engines, namely

• Corruption mitigation and good governace
• Indian energy security
• Infrastructure and human resource development

No amount of social engineering, empowerment and redistribution of wealth can bring about poverty alleviation for these are plain and simple election rhetoric aimed solely at fooling the public at large. Sixty five years history of independent India is a mute witness to all this and the country has not achieved anything worthwhile towards the oft touted slogans of poverty mitigation, food , health, education, shelter and a reasonable human existence  for all. 

While the government widened its doors for FDI in many sectors, Arcelor Mittal has scrapped the project of a Rs 50000 crore steel plant in Orissa and Posco pulled out of a Rs 32000 crore steel mill in Karnatka. Similarly, in spite of the gates being open about a year back to FDI in retail in India, a measure that could have catapulted not only the growth story but changed the lot of millions of workers, farmers etc. no worthwhile investments have come to India.

This only shows that there is simple trust deficit and the foreign entrepreneurs are simply not willing to pour in their hard earned money on the assurances of a polity which cannot be depended upon  for their utterances and actions. The ruling polity has to understand that these players are playing with their own hard earned money and are not enjoying the grand perks and prosperity at the cost of public exchequer. Unlike the polity which can afford to be incoherent in their policies, inefficient in their actions and imbibe a couldn't care less attitude in fulfilling their promises for providing the necessary atmosphere and infrastructure for any profitable business activity, these guys want continuity, sincerity and an honesty of purpose at all fronts in the country they step in.

The naked truth about FDI is that it will keep on pouring in tonnes if Indian economy keeps on growing at 9% plus with insignificant inflation. This reality is India's for the asking if and only if India takes on the challenge of corruption, graft and black money mitigation as also providing good governance earnestly.India must understand that God also helps those who help themselves. Let India grow at  9% plus, FDI will get attracted even with the present norms of cap on FDI like flies get attracted to jaggery for if they don't partake in the Indian growth story on India's terms, the emerging Indian industry giants will swallow them in no time.

INDIAN WAR AGAINST CORRUPTION

Corruption and black money menace has been the biggest stumbling block in the Indian march to the status of a global economic superpower and it is in fact corruption and corruption alone which is blowing away Indian dream of getting prosperous. This fact is very well known to all citizens of the country endowed with even an iota of common sense but somehow or the other has been escaping the attention of the ruling class because of their selfish hidden agenda, for

• War against corruption is a war against their own prosperity
• War against corruption is the first and last nail in the coffin of the polity's capability to win elections and grab power
• War against corruption is perhaps the antidote to all the baser human instincts like wine, woman, money power, criminality etc which sadly form the foundations of governments and governing process in the country.

During the last few years some constitutional bodies like Election Commission, Comptroller and Auditor General and the Judiciary have taken upon themselves the task of cleansing the election process, legislature, governance and policy making much to the chagrin of rulers of the country who see these as means of transforming them into servants of people as envisaged in a democracy. They see in all these an end to  their illegally assumed role of masters of general masses and are resisting the change tooth and nail.
During the last few days, supreme court has announced two landmark judgments which can have a far reaching effect on the country's war against corruption. In the first judgment on Wednesday that could cleanse the Indian political system from criminal elements, the Supreme Court held that if a sitting member of either House of Parliament or a state legislature is convicted, the member would be immediately disqualified. And in the second delivered on Thursday, a person, who is in jail or in police custody, cannot contest election to legislative bodies, bringing to an end an era of under trial politicians fighting polls from behind bars.The court, however, made it clear that disqualification would not be applicable to person subjected to preventive detention under any law.

Though the decisions have been welcomed by the common man, the politicians of all hues gifted with their wonderful gift of gab and an extraordinary ability of resorting to all kinds of logic that can put an end to the cleansing process initiated by the above mentioned agencies. It is a pity that the polity and rulers instead of working for what is best for the country devote all their time, energy and wisdom on promoting everything that is harmful for the nation through political manipulations and distorted logic.The nation is always reminded by clever, wily and self centered Indian polity about the basic postulate of jurisprudence that let thousands of guilty men go free  but no innocent man should be imprisoned. And as per the ethics of polity these thousands of guilty men who simply went free for lack of evidence or some flimsy technical grounds are all entitled to most lucrative and rewarding positions in legislature and legislative executive. For these men who have been elected to rule the country, the word doubtful integrity has no meaning and is in fact as good as having integrity beyond doubt. 

THE HOAX OF ELECTION PROMISES

Come elections in India and it is a free for all in the shape of corrupt practices  to woo/buy voters and votes to grab power. The hoax of election promises comes into play right from the process of formulation of election manifesto which is an exercise of elucidating the ideals for becoming a model prosperous country as has been done in the directive principles of state policy in the constitution. There is neither a blue print provided nor a time frame given. And the irony is that election after election the masses are fed the same hogwash without any impact on the poverty and miseries of common man and the rulers are simply making merry, enjoying perks and power without any accountability. The polity tells you that they are accountable to the voters who can throw them out of power in subsequent elections if not satisfied. But is this justice of any kind? Can the nation not demand from its rulers and would be rulers to quantify every welfare measure along with a definite time frame and false and misleading promises should be termed as fraudulent practices.
A few of the master piece  vague promises in the election manifesto of all major national and regional parties.
Work for all, education for all, food for all, health security for all, drinking water for all, a house  for all and the results of 65 years of so called concerted and sincere efforts of country's polity are there for every body to see even in the case of providing basic needs of human existence. With this picture of reality,talking of prosperity, comforts and conveniences of life is simply criminal. Let polity refrain from talking in terms of absolute numbers. Instead let them inform the voter, the likely percentage  to benefit in next five years and the number of years required to cover whole of population. It is only then the voter can decide whether he wants to wait till eternity for even these basic needs or he wants a revolutionary approach to his basic problems.
After having set these vague goals to fool the hapless citizenry of the country, money power and muscle power come to the fore and invariably decide the fate of these elections. While giving cash or booze to allure the voter by the candidates/parties is considered a bribe or corrupt practice, election commission is finding it very hard to control this menace. But promising doles and freebies out of the state exchequer in the garb of policy has been going on unchecked all these years. Some recent examples listed below show that all political parties are game for this, though to an
                                                                                                                                       unbiased observer, this is nothing but a Ponzi scheme in a limited sense wherein payments/doles/freebies are offered to the voters from the exchequer, which is nothing but voters' own money. The supreme court taking an exception to this is a welcome step even though in its opinion, legally it can not be construed as corrupt practice under the Representation of People's Act. But all the same the apex court has taken cognizance of the fact that such actions shake the roots of free and fair elections to a great degree and has instructed Election Commission to frame necessary guidelines in this regard.

INDIA CRYING FOR SINCERE AND HONEST POLITY

What a big ask for a country on the threshold of becoming an economic global super power? Sixty five years after independence and still election after election the basic agenda is 'Garibi Hatao', 'Roti, Kapda, aur Makan', Clean drinking water and clean living environment, basic healthcare, basic education, unemployment etc etc and the unending list goes on and on. The biggest achievement of India's so called sincere and honest polity over these decades have been that they have managed to retain all these bare essentials/needs of human living/existence as burning problems of the Indian nation. The helpless millions are left with no choice or alternative but to accept small freebies/doles/ bribes out of national wealth or the illegally earned heaps of wealth of the political masters, their cronies, near and dear ones and those who subscribe to the principle of  "you scratch my back, I will scratch yours". In return for these crumbs, these millions through their valuable vote offer power to these leeches, the leeches who are solely surviving on their blood sucking prowess, a prowess to fool the nation of billion plus citizens into accepting prosperity of a chosen few as willed by God or destiny.

Sisters and brothers of India, whether from villages or cities, from  any religion, caste or creed,rich or poor, this is not the truth. You are born in a country which has been endowed by nature with all the riches except sincere and honest rulers. Indian rulers are working overtime for enhancing the tenures of their tryst with prosperity and power wielding through manipulations of vote dynamics in the name of divisive rhetoric of cast, creed, religion etc..
These politicians have been boastfully talking about the reservations for dalits (SC's), scheduled tribes (ST's), other backward classes (OBC's) and reaping rich dividends in the form of prosperity and power for their cronies and relatives at the expense of even your basic needs of bare existence. Did the constitution mandate that welfare of the poor will be limited only to a couple of thousand  jobs per year in the government sector. At this rate the exploitation and injustice meted out to the poor and deprived classes for thousands of years will be mitigated perhaps in tens of thousands of years. It is strange that all politicians of this country irrespective of their caste, creed or religion are firm believers of this exploitation and have kept self, self interests and all baser instincts of humanity much ahead of the nation and its teeming helpless millions.
How long will you let yourselves be subject to this exploitation  and allow yourselves be bled to near non human existence. Don't be taken in by any of the tricks of politicians, for end of corrupt people  and corruption will be the end of your poverty and miseries. It is a war between your existence and their existence. Your poverty is a direct result of  corruption  by  those in authority and power. And this is something no politician of India seems to be concerned about. That is why

•  No LOK PAL, 
• No action against Black Money Generation, 
• Nothing to stop Graft, Bribe and corruption, 
• Non applicability of Right to information (RTI) to political parties, 
• Objections to any institution asking for accountability of actions of the polity such as Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and Judiciary.
• Government Stranglehold on the investigating agencies 

After all they are wise enough not to do Kalidasa act of cutting the same branch of tree on which they have been prospering and will continue to prosper for all their future generations. Corruption and corrupt practices are the sole lifeline of their very existence in politics and their capability of ruling India. So work hard in all earnest to cut this lifeline of politicians. It requires no gun, no sword.  Democracy has given you the right to achieve this just by giving your vote to the right man, the man who will utilise country's wealth for bringing in growth and prosperity  through more jobs, better wages, improved living conditions, providing basic healthcare and education to impart value addition to your earning power in a time bound manner rather than converting you into beggars and slaves by giving doles, freebies and subsidies in the same manner as was provided by the old feudal lords to maintain their status of masters vis a vis slaves for centuries.