Vijay Kumar Gaba

Friday, December 9, 2016

In search of solutions - 6

"The curse of me and my nation is that we always think things can be bettered by immediate action of some sort, any sort rather than no sort."

—Plato (Greek, 427-347BC)

Word for the day

Asomatous (adj)

Having no material body; incorporeal.

Malice towards none

President requests MPs to do their job!

Did someone told MPs - what's their job!

First random thought this morning

After the Supreme Court became the tyrant mother-in-law of BCCI, the Kerala High Court has dictated that female devotees cannot enter the Padmanabhaswamy Temple in Thiruvanthanpuram wearing Chudidar salwars. 10 Days ago, a bureaucrat, KN Satheesh, had allowed churidars to be worn in the temple.

Are you wondering why I am discussing these frivolities this early morning?

Well that is exactly the point!

In search of solutions - 6

Indian markets and economy have always surprised the experts and investors alike. Many investors are attracted towards the fabled India story, given the favorable demography and abundance of natural resource. But most of them fall short of their own expectations.

Despite showing resilience to many external shocks; many rounds of liberalization, stable democratic administration, consistent and positively evolving policy framework, Indian economy has not been able to enter the orbit of sustainable high growth.

Though many things have changed dramatically in past one decade, but we are far from rising above the colonial setup - in which we supply cheap resources (now notably skilled workers) to the global markets and provide a large captive market for their final produce. We welcome polluting industries of developed nations and happy to lower our compliance standards for a few dollars more.

Before discussing anything about economic solutions, it is therefore important to assimilate the economic problem of the country.

Understanding the economic problem

Have you ever wondered:

· Despite having a rich culinary tradition for centuries, millions of connoisseur consumers, and thousands of great eateries – why we could not create a McDonald, Dominos or Pizza Hut in India?

· Despite having over 2000yrs of rich tradition of fashion, fabric manufacturing, dress designing and abundant raw material availability why no Indian textile or fashion brands figures prominently in global fashion and textile industry?

· Coke quit India in 1977-78, leaving behind all manufacturing facilities, customers with taste for soda based drinks, distribution and marketing channel and sales infrastructure. For 14yrs Indian manufacturers had no competition whatsoever, till Pepsi and Coke re-entered India. Why did Campa cola, Parle and Duke not survive the competition from Pepsi and Coke even for a decade?

· Despite being one of the oldest civilization, tradition of living and networking in communities, spending considerable time in chaupals and doing Adda till late night, availability of tremendous IT skills – no Indian thought of creating Facebook – an e-chaupal with over US$340bn in market cap.

· Despite slavery of many centuries, why we still depend on those very foreigners for supply of equipment, arms and ammunition for our armed forces?

· Why failing to win an Olympic gold medal is a subject of national shame; failing to get nomination in Oscars is subject of national disappointment, but not getting a single Nobel for mathematics, science or literature post independence does not evoke any regrets or discussion? Remember, we always proudly claim ourselves to be pioneers in fields of mathematics, physics, astrophysics, metallurgical & medical sciences etc.Why we derive pride from the success of emigrated Indians who quit their motherland to take foreign citizenship?

· Despite being the largest producer of milk, and huge surplus food grain stock, why India is bracketed with some poorest third world countries in terms of child malnutrition?

· Why an average Indian male feels proud in being sexist when our religion, culture, and traditions propound supremacy of feminine power (The Mother Supreme)?

· Why an average Indian feels proud in being racist when our religion, culture, and traditions preach universality of human (Vasudeva Kutumbakam)?

· Why we Indians love to celebrate our Jugaad mindset, which reflects poorly on almost every aspect of the socio-economic life in India. This has severely impacted the pursuit of excellence, a hall mark of Indian art, culture, engineering, architecture, industry till 19^th century, at least. Today, “Quality” is something India and Indians are not particularly known for globally. This ‘jugaad’ mindset has also doggedly constricted the vision of an average Indian entrepreneur. Except for a handful of Indians, most of whom have the benefit of studying and/or working overseas, not many have thought about scalable business models. Even a large number of so called knowledge business businesses and modern retail are blatantly modeled on the popular global models.

· Almost all the popular realty TV shows; an overwhelming proportion of music scores; and popular cinema is poorly and blatantly copied from the west.

These are some of the inquisitions that may help us in understanding the economic behavior of Indian population and also highlight the contours of our economic problem…to continue on Tuesday

(PS: I have raised these issues many times earlier, almost in the same words. Hence it is natural that readers find it repetitive. However, given the relevance of the subject, in my view, I do not mind the reiteration)

Thursday, December 8, 2016

In search of solutions - 5

Thought for the day

"The measure of a man is what he does with power."

—Plato (Greek, 427-347BC)

Word for the day

Campanology (n)

The principles or art of making bells, bell ringing, etc.

Malice towards none

I knew this ultra Hindu Rashtra chauvinist from my college days. He later turned coat and became ultra secular and self-proclaimed Rahul Gandhi enthusiast.

Insiders tell me that for past many weeks he is sitting at back door of BJP office, waiting for permission to enter.

First random thought this morning

A number of experts have already started to rehearse the obituaries of globalization. From their writings I find that seemingly they have nothing against the globalization per se. They just want to be recognized as someone who first saw the end of it. The gratification of telling the common public "I said so" with a mean grim on your face, is so special.

Almost all of these experts see the Italy vote against proposed reforms as the second step towards the end of the project Europe, after Brexit. To them, inauguration of president trump; German, French, Italian elections; and beginning of the Brexit project next week will tick all the boxes pre-requisite for de-globalization of the global economy.

I beg to strongly disagree. I believe, we will just see a change in the format. The euphoria over the success of new format will provide the necessary escape velocity to take the world out of the current stalemate.

In search of solutions - 5

As suggested yesterday (see here), my solution to the political problems being faced by our country is predicated on our ability to build a political structure based on strong communities that live in harmony with nature and each other. Mutual trust, equality and sustainability are naturally at the core of my utopia.

I may now present the broader contours of my utopian socio-political structure. Some may want to draw prima facie similarities with the Communist State. But trust me it has nothing to do with a Leninist, Maoist or even Marxist state. My utopian structure does allow equal opportunity to all, but through "democratic election" and not by "arbitrary nomination". Moreover, commitment to community (communalism), culture (religion & traditions), and reverence to the Mother Nature (sustainability) are the core and non-negotiable elements for me, whereas in a communist state these are mostly redundant.

The primary governance unit — Local Council

(a) The primary unit of the country should be a democratic assembly of people in a town or village (Town or village council).

(b) Each town or village should directly elect a suitable number of representatives on a periodic basis. The winning candidate must win at least 51% of the eligible votes (not just the votes cast).

(c) Every adult citizen domiciled in that town/village for at least 10years, should have an equal opportunity to get elected for a term of 3years. No person shall be elected for more than 3 terms.

(d) Election expense of all candidates who could show support of at least 10% of eligible voters should be funded by the state. Other candidates may be required to fund their own expense. The spending limit may be fixed, say Rs10, per eligible voter in the constituency. All expenses should be paid through the designated State office only.

(e) The performance of each Local Council member should be evaluated on annual basis by an independent agency. A member failing to score the passing grade should be barred from politics for a period of 6yrs.

(f) The chairman of the Local Council should be elected by the members elected by the public, through a transparent secret ballot. The winning candidate must have a minimum of 51% of elected Council members supporting him/her. Each such Chairman should constitute an advisory board of local experts to advise him on governance matters. Members of the advisory board should not be paid any remuneration.

(g) Primary health, education, scientific research, art, culture, law & order are governed exclusively by the Local Council. All local civil disputes must be first resolved through mediation at the Council level only.

(h) All citizens are accorded a right to uniform education and primary health services, to be implemented by the Local Councils. Private, for profit, investment is allowed only in technical education, and specialized health services.

The secondary governance unit — District Council

(a) Town and villages with largely homogeneous demographic characteristics should be grouped in various Districts. Each District should have an independent governing council. All such District Councils should be empowered to impose & collect direct taxes; frame rules for engagement with other District Councils in the country, including exploitation & sharing of natural resources; movement of labor & capital etc.

(b) Local Councils falling within a District should elect from amongst their present and past members, who have served at least 2 complete terms, to the District Council.

(c) The number of members representing each Local Council should be in proportion to the population, area and social indicators of each such Local Council. Areas with stronger social indicators get to elect few extra members. This should promote healthy competition amongst Local Council to improve the social indicators.

(d) The district council should have a fixed term of 6years, with half the members retiring by rotation every 3years. No member should be elected to the District Council more than once.

(e) The performance of each district council member should be evaluated on annual basis by an independent agency. A member failing to score the passing grade should be barred from politics for a minimum period of 10yrs.

(f) The chairman of the District Council should be elected by the representatives elected by Local Councils, through a transparent secret ballot. The winning candidate must secure a minimum of 51% elected representatives members supporting him/her.

(g) Each such Chairman should constitute an advisory board of experts to advise him on governance matters. Members of the advisory board should not be paid any remuneration.

The third tier — National Council

(a) Each District Council should elect members to the National Council, in proportion to population, area and social indicators.

(b) Districts Councils should elect from their best performing past and present members who have served at least one complete term on the District Council.

(c) The Chairman of the National Council should be elected through a transparent secret ballot. The winning candidate must secure a minimum of 51% elected representatives members supporting him/her.

(d) Each such Chairman should constitute an advisory board of experts to advise him on governance matters. Members of the advisory board should not be paid any remuneration.

(e) The National Council shall deal only with common matters of national interests, such as foreign relations, national defense, etc.

Next I shall present outline of an economic model to go with this.

Wednesday, December 7, 2016

In search of solutions - 4

Thought for the day

"No one knows whether death, which people fear to be the greatest evil, may be the greatest good."

—Plato (Greek, 427-347BC)

Word for the day

Quondam (adj)

Former;

Onetime, e.g., his quondam partner.

Malice towards none

How death ends animosity, enmity, hatred, rancor, acrimony, everything?

Or does it?

First random thought this morning

After Brexit & Trump now the dreaded Italy 'No' vote also has not impacted the global markets as most experts would have expected.

What could be the reason?

(a) Markets are too complacent, and would eventually explode sometime in 2017.

(b) Experts are completely out of synch with the popular mood on the street.

In search of solutions - 4

“It is Swaraj when we learn to rule ourselves. It is, therefore, in the palm of our hands. But such Swaraj has to be experienced, by each one for himself. One drowning man will never save another.”

“I believe that you want the millions of India to be happy, not that you want the reins of government in your hands. If that be so, we have to consider only one thing: how can the millions obtain self-rule?”

[M. K. Gandhi, Hind Swaraj]

Over the past seven decades, the political structure has taken the shape of a pyramid form, whereas the social structure in the country continues to be in a ladder form.

In a pyramid structure, the space at the top is limited. The people are continuously at struggle with each other. Those who have reached the top fight with each other to stay there. They have also to fight with a multitude of other people who are trying to reach the summit. To survive at the top, you need to push all others down. The concepts such as mutual trust, harmony, cooperation, equality, justice, etc. have little relevance under this structure. The laws of the jungle prevail - the strongest survives and his interest is accepted as justice. This intense and consistent struggle to survive, seldom allows the leaders at the top to bother about the people below.

To the contrary, traditionally the Indian society is structured in ladder form. The ultimate goal is well defined as salvation from this material world. The space at the top is unlimited. There is no competition. Mostly people wish that the person ahead of them moves higher faster so that they could also move up. It's like a queue in the temple. You want the people ahead of you to move forward faster, so that you could also get to worship the deity sooner. No one pulls anyone back. Everyone pushes the others forward.

I have been highlighting since ever that one of the best things India has got in past 150years is Mahatma Gandhi. And the most unfortunate thing to occur since independence from British rule in 1947 is brazen desertion of Mahatma Gandhi by Indian politicians. To my mind hanging his pictures in government offices or currency notes and naming roads after him is even more contemptuous given the blatant irreverence for his principles and ideas.

Mahatma Gandhi understood the Indian society as no other Indian leader in modern India did. Based on his understanding, he suggested the model of Swaraj (self rule). Trust me, the Gandhian idea of Swaraj could have been proposed only by a person like him who had experienced India so intimately.

(It may be pertinent to recall here that in my view Arvind Kejriwal’s idea of Swaraj is at best a perversion of Gandhian concept of Swaraj and deserves to be rejected with due contempt.)

M. P. Mathai explains the Gandhian idea of Swaraj very succinctly as follows:

“Although the word swaraj means self-rule, Gandhi gave it the content of an integral revolution that encompasses all spheres of life. “At the individual level swaraj is vitally connected with the capacity for dispassionate self-assessment, ceaseless self-purification and growing swadeshi or self-reliance".

Politically swaraj is self-government and not good government (for Gandhi, good government is no substitute for self-government) and it means continuous effort to be independent of government control, whether it is foreign government or whether it is national.

In the other words, it is sovereignty of the people based on pure moral authority. Economically, poorna swaraj means full economic freedom for the toiling millions. For Gandhi, swaraj of the people meant the sum total of the swaraj (self-rule) of individuals and so he clarified that for him swaraj meant freedom for the meanest of his countrymen. And in its fullest sense, swaraj is much more than freedom from all restraints, it is self-rule, self-restraint and could be equated with moksha or salvation."

In one of his letters to Leo Tolstoy Gandhi explained Swaraj as follows:

“Independence begins at the bottom. A society must be built in which every village has to be self sustained and capable of managing its own affairs. It will be trained and prepared to perish in the attempt to defend itself against any onslaught from without. This does not exclude dependence on and willing help from neighbors or from the world. It will be a free and voluntary play of mutual forces. In this structure composed of innumerable villages, there will be ever widening, never ascending circles.

Growth will not be a pyramid with the apex sustained by the bottom. But it will be an oceanic circle whose center will be the individual. Therefore the outermost circumference will not wield power to crush the inner circle but will give strength to all within and derive its own strength from it.” (as cited in Wikipedia)

Thus, the individual is the sole basis of Swaraj. Swaraj is unfathomable without dispassionate self-assessment, ceaseless self-purification and growing self-reliance at individual level; and sovereignty of moral authority, as against the political authority.

Swaraj encompasses fiercely competitive free market, moral duty to be free, fearless, truthful, fair, just, self reliant, nationalist, and religious.

This Swaraj, many argue is Utopian in current context. Some argue that it is desirable but we have traveled too far down the road we took post independence from British rule; and it is too late to go back and begin again.

In my view, this defeatist and fatigued attitude is unwarranted. What we need is a zero base discussion on the subject and solutions will emerge that would lead us to the desired goal of making 1.3bn people free, fearless and happy. An incremental approach howsoever sincere might not yield the desired results.

With this in mind I dream of a free, fearless and fair socio-political organization for the country."

During my various visits to the hinterlands of the country, I found strong evidence of numerous democratic assemblies within various communities and localities. From my experience I know for certain that most Indians not only feel comfortable working with the members of their own community, but are usually most productive when operating within the network of their “Own people” or "Community".

This “communalism” is arguably a key strength of Indian society. Therefore, in my view, the social ecology model suggested by author and activist Murray Bookchin which advocates a “stateless, classless, decentralized society consisting of a network of directly democratic citizens' assemblies in individual communities/cities organized in a confederal fashion” appears relevant in our context.

Unfortunately, our politicians and social activists have dissipated the term “communalism” to mean intolerance and hatred towards other religions, especially amongst Hindus and Muslims. This debauchery has introduced many distortions in our socio-political order. In my view this needs to be corrected as pre-condition before we begin working on any course correction.

Religious fundamentalism (which is usually referred to as “communalism” in Indian context), is mostly a political problem in India. A secular political system, as envisaged by Mahatma Gandhi and incorporated in the soul of our Constitution, would automatically weaken these miniscule elements leading to their eventual extinction.

My solution to the India's political problem is thus predicated on our ability to build and nurture strong communities that live in harmony with the nature.

Tomorrow I shall present the broad contours of the political structure that in my view can rid our country of nepotism; conflicts between various interest groups that undermine the national interest; mediocrity at the expense of meritocracy; promote communal harmony, equity, and cater to the aspirations of all the people.

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

In search of solutions - 3

Thought for the day

"Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws."

—Plato (Greek, 427-347BC)

Word for the day

Bruit (v)

To voice abroad; rumor. Used chiefly in the passive and often followed by about, e.g., The report was bruited through the village.

Malice towards none

In religious terms - when a person is taken as dead?

First random thought this morning

After UK and US, the popular sentiment in Italy has also rejected the new normal. People there have also voted for returning back to the conventional means. It is to be seen whether German and French voters will also reject the new normal and vote for the return to conventional means of socio-economic subsistence.

I am not sure whether the return to roots could be selective. The pre-globalized world was after all imperialist, polarized and always at war.

The positives could be that most modern day scientific inventions were made in those days. The new world order has perhaps seen slowest growth in the field of pure sciences and literature. The best art, literature and philosophical works were also produced in pre-globalization era.

In search of solutions - 3

Talking about the political problems in the country, I feel at country level the regional socio-economic disparities and cultural differences are well highlighted. These are indeed popular ingredient of any political and cultural marketing campaign in India. However, the awareness about the differences that exist at the state level is relatively poor.

To a person sitting in Mumbai, Bangaluru, Chennai or Hyderabad, the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP) may not mean much more than – Taj Mahal, Varanasi, Lucknow, Kebab, taxi drivers and construction labor. Very few residents of the western and southern states appreciate that UP is as diverse as India itself. Various regions of the state, i.e., Awadh, Brij, Rohillkhand, Bundelkhand, Purvanchal, and Doab, have distinctly identifiable history, food, dialect, customs, deities, and problems.

People from Bundelkhand and Doab regions in particular have been agitating for a different political identity for themselves since long. The regions also differ in terms of caste, community, and religions dynamics. Differences in terms of weather, water and electricity availability, crop patterns, flood-draught cycle, political influence, urbanization, physical infrastructure, income disparities and other social indicators are also rather stark. Same holds true for many other states also.

Unjustifiable socio-economic disparities amongst various states and regions within states, materially different socio-economic status of various castes and communities in different states, has frequently led to demands and agitations for new administrative units (states and districts).

The legislatures have been mostly unsuccessful in developing and adopting a consensus framework for federal structure of the country (Though some attempts like Sarkaria Commission have been made). Certainly there has been a marked improvement in state-center relationship in past 25years, but this could be more due to political compulsions rather than any structural change. This has been the period when regional parties have played critical role in government formation at the center. The strains in center-state relations have reemerged as soon as a single party government got installed at center in 2014.

It would therefore not be unreasonable to say that the post independence political organization of the country designed primarily on lingual basis may no longer be relevant in the current context.

Moreover, the tradition to appoint by nomination rather than purely on the basis of election has killed meritocracy in politics and promoted inequality.

The political problem therefore is to develop a political organization that fully assimilates the aspirations of the people, addresses specific local problems, promotes mutual trust & harmony, bars incompetence and knavery from public office, and insures that the best is selected and prepared to rule for the common good.

For my seemingly Utopian solution to this problem of political organization - see this space on tomorrow.

Friday, December 2, 2016

In search of solutions - 2

Thought for the day

"We still think of a powerful man as a born leader and a powerful woman as an anomaly."

—Margaret Atwood (Canadian, 1939)

Word for the day

Laicism (n)

The secular, control of political and social institutions in a society (distinguished from clericalism).

Malice towards none

Could I be a nationalist and still not support BJP?

First random thought this morning

The life these days is much easier. I am saved from the trouble of taking a host of supposedly personal decision for myself.

The government, judiciary and society (khap) are deciding for me what should (or should not) I eat, drink, wear, sing, listen, watch, study, read, show, do, own, keep, give, drive, etc.

I am eagerly waiting for rules/guidelines that will decide my sleeping & waking time!

In search of solutions - 2

“For indeed any city, however small, is in fact divided into two, one the city of the poor, the other of the rich; these are at war with one another; and in either there are many smaller divisions, and you would be altogether beside the mark if you treated them all as a single State.”

(Book IV, The Republic, Plato)

A few months back, a group of self claimed righteous people started a new political movement. These people had been part of the India against corruption movement of Anna Hazare and its offshoot Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The leaders of the movement mentioned that to them dynastic politics, women safety, corruption in public offices, electoral malpractices, inequality and social injustice are the key problems that India faces today.

I liked their ideas & intent and expressed my desire to join them, provided they tell me how they propose to solve these problems. For last two months I am waiting to hear from them.

I am not signaling anyone out here. I am just highlighting that in an environment where everyone is just talking about problems, we need people to start discussing solutions.

The other point I want to highlight is that most of the problems people are highlighting may just be the symptom of the problem and not the problem in itself. Beware that in finding solutions, we would need to focus on the underlying problems and not merely the manifest symptoms.

For example, in an electoral democracy son of a politicians contesting and winning election should not be a problem. After all it is the people who have elected the son to a public office, just like anyone else. Especially when no one is complaining about poll rigging etc.

The true problem here is the unequal opportunity. And this problem is not limited to politics but to every sphere of the life - education, law, medicine, art, business, religion, etc.

All those complaining about the dynasty in politics fail to provide a solution because they are scared of addressing the underlying problem, which pervades deep into our personal and social lives.

To my mind therefore it is critical to define the underlying problem before any attempt is made to find the possible solutions.

I now begin by stating my understanding of the political problem.

The political problem in India is to develop a political organization that fully assimilates the aspirations of the people, addresses specific local problems, promotes mutual trust & harmony, bars incompetence and knavery from public office, and insures that the best is selected and prepared to rule for the common good.

...to continue on Tuesday

Thursday, December 1, 2016

In search of solutions

Thought for the day

"Little girls are cute and small only to adults. To one another they are not cute. They are life-sized."

—Margaret Atwood (Canadian, 1939)

Word for the day

Quinquennium (n)

A period of five years.

Malice towards none

All rhetoric, no substance - new normal in public discourse.

First random thought this morning

SC wants all cinema goers to listen to the national anthem by standing in honor - Great. A noble thought.

Why not begin all court hearings, schools, offices, theaters, comedy shows, police stations, rail journeys, with the national anthem?

What if a foreigner wants to watch movie in an Indian theater but does not want to stand in honor of our national anthem?

How this diktat is different from "Agar Bharat meni rehna hoga toh Bharat Mata ki Jai kehna hoga".

In search of solutions

As indicated yesterday (see here), these days I find that a large majority of people, especially the people who matter the most, are talking only about the problems.

To make the matter even worse, the public discourse has become mostly rhetorical with little substance in it.

Only a few 'Radicals" have the courage to offer solutions. The elites naturally have problem in assimilating these solution as these do not conform to the conventional knowledge. On the other hand the commoners, distraught and disillusioned as they are, are enthusiastic and willing to experiment with these radical alternatives even if not sure where they will be led to.

In my view, this march towards the unknown with inadequate luggage, is the most worrisome aspect of the present day life. The unpredictability, mistrust that has permeated the system is also adding to the misery.

Empirically, such experiments with radicalism have shown diverse results and as such no pattern is available. For example — Hitler and Stalin failed miserably. Deng Xiaoping and Lee Kuan Yew are widely believed to be remarkable success stories. Castro, Mao, Nixon and Regan are still debatable. Back home, Sanjay Gandhi and V. P. Singh are mostly considered failures, while Atal Bihari Vajpayee and PV Narasimha Rao are celebrated for breaking the status quo.

In past five odd years, I have made multiple attempts to understand the problems that have been ailing the Indian society and therefore the Indian economy. From the experience I gained through wandering across the vast landscapes and meeting thousands of common people in hinterlands, I can claim to have earned some understanding of the problems, I mean rhetoric apart. I have in fact been sharing my understanding with the readers.

Moreover, since I enjoy the advantage of not being a formal student of economics, statistics, finance, politics or sociology - I can certainly take liberty to assess the problems from a common sense viewpoint and devise solutions that do not necessarily conform to the established conventions.

Since I have written on these issues frequently and consistently, my old readers may find the presentation that follows in next few days, repetitive. However, I still find this exercise worth doing as it reinforces my commitment and faith in the great India story.

In next few days I shall discuss the social, political, and economic problems afflicting my country. I would also take the liberty to offer some solutions that I believe could solve many of these problems.

Remember, this is to initiate a larger debate on the desirable social, political and economic order for the country. I have been accumulating thoughts on this for past five years. The readers may pick whatever they like, debate it, improve it and introduce back in the stream. It is important to clarify that I do not claim any proprietary rights over these thoughts. I claim to have liberally and unabashedly plagiarized the thoughts of various common and eminent people; published wisdom; and my own experiences.