Sunday, May 18, 2014

Something gotta give

Thought for the day
“My motto is: more good times.”
-          Jack Nicholson (American, 1937 - )
Word for the day
Venal (adj)
Willing to sell one's influence, especially in return for a bribe; open to bribery; mercenary.
(Source: Dictionary.com)
Teaser for the day
Narendra Modi’s journey from IGI Airport to BJP office in Delhi on Saturday highlights that India now has a daring, accessible, and risk taker prime minister.

Something gotta give

Expectation is a strange animal. More you beat it, stronger it rises. Consistent underachievement is perhaps the only way to kill it.
The astounding victory of Narendra Modi has beaten all expectations. Consequently, it has raised staggering expectations in all sections of the society.
Mandate 2014 is unmistakably for a person who projected himself as epitome of pragmatism, development, inclusivity, nationalism and good governance. He therefore does not enjoy the luxury of hiding behind the shields like limitation of coalition, party ideology and conventional political paradigms. People have afforded him complete freedom to deliver on the promised change and expect an express delivery from him.
In my view, two tasks need to top his list of priorities –
(a)   Bridging the multitude of deficits prevalent in the country, especially trust deficit, governance deficit, compliance deficit, skill deficit, social and physical infrastructure deficit, and capital deficit.
(b)   Bringing India into a state of equilibrium by removing social, and regional, economic imbalances.
From anecdotal evidence of Narendra Modi’s administrative and strategic prowess, I believe that he has the ability to drive the change. However, it would be preposterous to assume that he can do it on his own. He would need the support and cooperation of all in his colossal endeavor.
The anecdotal evidence further suggests that a vast majority of 1.26bn Indians is expecting Narendra Modi to deliver for them, at least on economic front. The problem is that no one is willing to give.
I ponder whether -
·         Industries and businesses who have thrived historical on government largesse and not necessarily on the enterprising abilities of promoters would be willing to give back to society by way higher taxes, higher voluntary CSR spending, technology upgrade for better resource utilization, etc.;
·         Regions like Gujarat and Maharashtra, which are economically more developed despite not being endowed richly with natural resources, would like to acknowledge that a part of their development is due to imperial designs of British regime and share their wealth with exploited regions like Jharkhand and Odisha.
·         Caste and communities which command ownership of the major part of economic resources and occupy most of the social space, would like to voluntarily vacate some space for the historically oppressed and downtrodden.
·         Populace who has grown to be non-compliant by habit, not necessarily by intention, would like to change habits like spitting on roads, violating traffic rules, encroaching on pavements in front of their house/shops, exploiting domestic helps and child labor etc.

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