"By all means, marry.
If you get a good wife, you'll become happy; if you get a bad one, you'll
become a philosopher."
—Socrates (Greek, 469-399BC)
Word for the day
Offing (n)
The more distant part of the
sea seen from the shore, beyond the anchoring ground.
(Source: Dictionary.com)
Malice towards none
Indira Nooyi has become the
largest alumni donor for Yale University of USA.
Earlier Ratan Tata had also
donated large sum to a US university!
First random thought this morning
Adverse weather conditions for two years; difficult economic conditions;
stressful financial markets; erosion in political support seen in 2014 general
elections; and prominent division in society over issue of religious and
cultural tolerance — PM Modi's luck appears to have taken a break.
Not sure, if he needs to seek divine intervention to set things
right. But he may certainly want to have a serious re-look at
his team.
Learn from history, please!
The election to the state assembly of UP are due in March 2017.
The ruling Samajwadi Party has already kick started an aggressive election
campaign. The principle opposition parties, BSP & BJP, appear bewildered by
the media blitzkrieg of the state government. I saw 4-6 full page government
advertisements in mainstream newspapers boasting about the road development
plans of the state government. Besides, the FM channels are trumpeting the
achievements of the state government rather annoyingly.
Akhilesh Yadav ostensible wants to set an agenda, his opponents
would find it hard to challenge, i.e., all-round development of the state.
There was no sign of the communal divide or negative commentary on the
performance of the central government, the prime minister of BJP.
However, in most of the cities, towns or village we passed through
the communal tension was ominously present just a couple of millimeters under
the surface. A small prick would bring the monster out of the captivity. Even
in larger towns like Hapur, Moradabad, Bareilly, Shahjhanpur, and Rampur - on
numerous houses, flags have been hoisted to show the religious identity of the
residents. Personal vehicles (even cycles and motorbikes) also support such
flags. Even small children of a particular community could be identified easily
from their attire.
This all raises doubts about the sustainability of the development
agenda.
The ghost of Ram Mandir is already out of the bottle, setting the
stage for a tense summer ahead.
BSP has not started yet. But the feeling is that Mayawati may
desert the inclusive agenda that won her 2007 elections, in favor of a highly
polarizing caste based agenda.
Leaving the politics aside, my point is that the country's
development paradigm will have to change dramatically for the development to
become a sustainable agenda in Indian context.
The state will have to leave the responsibility of the economic
development to the private enterprise. The role of the state should be limited
to setting the guiding principles and red lines that cannot be crossed under
any circumstances. Rest will have to be left on the market forces.
The state will have to play a much larger and active role in the
traditional and cultural arena. Historically, the development and promotion of
art, culture, science and education has been the primary responsibility of the
state. All the famous kings have excelled in this responsibility. And this
excellence of the state in supporting and promoting the art and knowledge had
only made India the golden bird, it used to be once.
The state needs to focus on that in substantive manner, rather
than dissipating its energies on micromanaging the economy. Conferring
ceremonial Padma and other academy awards is grossly inadequate.
On the sidelines, winter crop in UP and Uttrakhand is going to be
poor. Wheat and sugar may not be a problem due to buffer stock, but potato
could be hot this summer.
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