India: A Day of Yea and Nay

I was pleasantly surprised to see that public opinion still matters in our Country. Though this is a good news, the caveat that the judges cannot be questioned about their assets is still a 'holier-than-thou' attitude they so easily thrust upon us. Ironically, the overseers of our laws still seem to think they are beyond it.

From TimesofIndia

Bowing to intense public pressure as well as revolt in the ranks, Supreme Court judges on Wednesday finally agreed to disclose their assets and liabilities and post the details on the official website of the apex court.

However, the landmark decision has a caveat attached to it: the judges would not entertain any query relating to their assets and liabilities and how their wealth grew or decreased.

The decision to make a public disclosure of their assets and liabilities as well as those of their spouses and dependents was taken by Chief Justice of India K G Balakrishnan and the judges at a full court meeting, marking a major climbdown on the part of higher judiciary.

I had earlier in march touched upon the same issue here.

POKHRAN II: Thermo Nuclear Whimper

Now we get to hear, what we had feared but convinced ourselves all along that it can't be true. The thermonuclear test apparently wasn't as big a success as we were led to believe, albeit with loud protestations by western media. At this point, despite the exaggerated claims, we would be more at a loss if we are to sign CTBT, thus robbing us of any opportunity to master this technology. We should never be at the mercy of Powers, be it US or China at any point due to a lack of credible deterrance.

Again from TimesofIndia

The yield of the thermonuclear
explosions was actually much below expectations and the tests were perhaps more a fizzle rather than a big bang.
The controversy over the yield of the tests, previously questioned by foreign agencies, has been given a fresh lease of life with K Santhanam, senior scientist and DRDO representative at Pokhran II, admitting for the first time that the only thermonuclear device tested was a "fizzle". In nuclear parlance, a test is described as a fizzle when it fails to meet the desired yield.

The Sound of Paradise

Jaswant Episode: BJP Dying from within

BJP didn't take any action on Varun Gandhi for his hate speech, however it expels a senior experienced and knowledgeable leader like Jaswant Singh for writing a book. Goes to show what is wrong with the party. Reports indicate that it was Narendra Modi who pushed hard for Jaswant's removal and he also banned the book in Gujarat. Notwithstanding his success in Gujarat, if BJP is to have any future as a Pan-Indian party that befits a modern, secular and growing democracy, it has to drop the hardliners like Modi out from decision making roles.

Either that, or if India is foolish enough to fall for the quasi-theocratic thuggery that the likes of Narendra Modi practice in the name of Hindu Culture or what not, it will become yet another Asian Nation that couldn't keep its religion and state separate, deserving the consequent fate that befalls every other theocratic state.

Looking Inward

Musings on Aug 15th

As a country how far have we come since 1947? Have we achieved as a nation what we could have? From my perspective we surely are not a failure, atleast not yet, but that isn't a reason to not see the silver lining too. Despite our little to nothing progress on the alleviation of poverty, social mobility and illiteracy, there are a few things to cheer about in India (no, i am not going to carp about our "democratic credentials"). For all the faults within our system, we have produced a decent Industrial base, scientific community, self-reliant in food (achieved with the first green revolution). We also had a decent land re-distribution reform done early after Independence and thanks to it, the feudal zamindari system was broken down. But whether all these are enough is still to be seen. If the recent Moaist attacks are any indication there is a lot of work to be done to reduce the inequality that persists. So, on this day, what are the challenges and opportunities that we Indians are faced with?

Let me start with the challenges.

Water Resource

This is probably the biggest problem that India would face in next 10 to 15 years. This problem is exacerbated by an exploding population, rapid industrialization, rapid groundwater depletion and changing weather patterns. If the current trends continue and due to global warming, the Himalayan Glaciers disappear making Ganges and other perennial rivers seasonal, it could have devastating results for our country's food security and survival of huge sections of our people.

Unemployment and Dissatisfied Youth

India has the youngest population of any country at this time. There would be a huge bump, in an already hugely competitive job market, in the number of people entering the job market. A significant portion of this population would be illiterate or with bare minimum education. Keeping this section employed, providing them with access to education (and retraining) is going to be huge challenge. This is going to be the biggest issue that would determine the political stability and internal peace (including law and order situation) over the next decade and beyond. The Moaists and Naxalite problem that is spreading over large swathes of our country will only get worse if we don't find a solution to keep our youth employed and the inequality in our society is worked on.

Pandemics

Swineflu, currently scaring most of our cities just shows how vulnerable we are to such outbreaks. Given our population density, poor sanitation, dependence on public transportation, such outbreaks are going to be ever more difficult to control. Added to this, a majority of our kids are malnourished would only make them that much more vulnerable.

Opportunities

Most of the risks listed above are not unique to India. Most developing and under-developed countries have the very same problems. Any solution (technological or otherwise) is going to be a huge revenue and job generator for us.

Resource Management

Water, Food, Minerals, forest cover, wildlife, fisheries - all of these resources would become evermore precious in the days to come. We should be developing newer technologies that are cheap enough for developing and poor countries.

Bio-tech and Micro-biology

We should be pioneering in the development of new technologies in food production, storage and distribution. Though we are pretty big in the generic drug market, India should be working on becoming the hub for coming up with and producing drugs for diseases that afflict poor, tropical countries.

Engineering

Don't be afraid, I am not talking about IT. If Tato Nano and Simputer (though commercially not successful) are examples, we know that we are good at engineering and in coming up with solutions that are specific to our needs. We should use our immense industrial base with our engineering talent to come up with designs and processes that help our lot, instead of just waiting for the west to come up with newer designs that we simply absorb.

Wish everyone a very happy Independence Day!!!!

State of Nation Shame

I have nothing more to add.

From TimesofIndia:

More than 60 years after Independence, untouchability is alive and thriving in India’s hinterlands. Pockets of social change have been but mere drops in an ocean of casteism and prejudice.
...
Dalits are still segregated with little access to temples, water sources and upper caste areas. And ironically, even in Radhanagar in Hooghly district, the birthplace of social reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy, there are separate crematoria for Brahmins and non-Brahmins. And in a bizarre case in Waganagere village in Gulbarga district of Karnataka, 120 Dalit households were forced to draw water from their well even after a dog fell in and died. During festivities, not only are they served food separately, but they have to bring their own plates and tumblers. Gulbarga, incidentally, has 126 cases registered under the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Act 1989 and the Protection of Civil Rights Act 1955, the highest in Karnataka.

There is more in the article.