"Worry does not empty
tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength."
—Corrie Ten Boom (Dutch,
1892-1983)
Word for the day
Namby-pamby (adj)
Lacking in character,
directness, or moral or emotional strength. e.g., namby-pamby
writing.
Malice towards none
Over 250mn Indians are
struggling to get a pitcher of drinking water, even risking their life.
Nero is busy discussing
Kohinoor.
First random thought this morning
By criticizing the seemingly innocuous use of a popular Hindi
idiom by governor Rajan at some academic forum, BJP leaders have taken the
intolerance debate to next level.
Union commerce minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who never bothered to
raise any objection to the numerous obnoxious, racist & sexist comments
made by party leaders, was particularly uncharitable in her criticism of the
governor.
For the nth time, I want to rewind the tape and hear
what Mrs. Amir Khan had said a few months back.
Its not about drought only
Earlier this week, the central government told the Supreme Court
that over 330mn Indians are facing acute water shortages due to drought
conditions.
I am not sure what my readers in metro cities having no direct
connection to the affected areas would make out of this admission by the
government. But trust me (a) this is much more serious than you could possibly
imagine; and (b) the government is only partially right in its statement.
It is true that over one fourth of Indian population is suffering
from serious water crisis. But it is not completely true that this is some
temporary problem caused by two consecutive drought years and rains this
monsoon season will resolve the problem.
In many parts of the countries, including many metro cities like
Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Indore, Madurai etc., water shortages are perennial.
People, mostly female members of the household, have to walk long distances and
wait for hours to fetch few liters of water barely sufficient to meet their
sustenance needs.
Large parts of central and south India, Rajasthan, Gujarat and
Maharashtra are parched since decades now.
The current drought conditions have obstructed industrial
production in affected area, damaged crops, and adversely impacted animal
husbandry. But this is not the worst part.
My colleagues who returned yesterday from a trip of Bundelkhand
and Vidharbha regions, tell me that acute water scarcities is severely damaging
(a) the basic fabric of the society; (b) peoples' faith in the constitutional
institutions; (c) the survival instinct of people; and (d) psyche of the
people.
The rate of crime is rising. Even bigger problem is that the
acceptance of crime as a way of life is rising; affording a certain degree of
legitimacy and respect to the criminals. Child traffickers, organ thieves,
pimps and rapists are not amongst the most hated. Police, district
administrators, bureaucrats, and politicians enjoy that distinction.
On economic side, the country is witnessing humongous productivity
loss. A large number of children and youth are missing school and work to go in
search of water. Mothers are not getting enough time to feed their newborn. The
business of dirty water is growing much bigger than the bottled water and so is
the business of water borne diseases.
I cannot agree more with the governor Rajan, when he says higher
and faster growth is not sufficient. We would need to make the growth much more
sustainable and equitable. I have been writing on this subject consistently for
past many years. For example you could read the following:
I would share my thoughts on implications of this on my investment
strategy, next week.
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