Jhoom Jhoom Jhoom Baba

When a simple old man in white kurta-pyjama and a Gandhi cap stood up against corruption in India, the entire nation stood behind him. Anna Hazare found support from the masses as well as the classes. But when Baba Ramdev stands up to corruption, how come he doesn’t get the type of support that Anna got?

If you really consider the difference between Anna and Baba, Anna is as an affable straight forward honest social reformer who has transformed Ralegaon Siddhi from being a village afflicted by drought, poverty and illicit liquor to a model village where he carried out programs like tree planting, terracing to reduce soil erosion and digging canals to retain rainwater. He has no political aspirations, no religious followers and no hidden agenda. His organization does not even accept donations. His simple Gandhian principles struck a chord with Indians when he took up the crusade to fight against corruption. The educated lot, especially people form the middle class and college students put their hand up in his support, as social network sites went into frenzy. Anna even had support from eminent citizens such as social activist and a retired Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Kiran Bedi, Ramon Magsaysay Award winner Arvind Kejriwal and former Law Minister of India Shanti Bhushan who stood solid behind him.

And then we have Baba Ramdev on the other end. The one eyed bearded Baba runs a multi crore yoga and Ayurveda empire and flies around in a private jet. He has soared to celebrity status on television with crazy ideas and huge ambitions. He has hordes of religious followers and now his empire is expanding to far away locations like Scotland. There was a current news in the papers, where one of his associate claimed that the last balance sheet filed by Baba Ramdev was for more than 1,000 crore Rupees. Not to mention his political aspirations, where he has his own party called Bharat Swabhiman and wants to field candidates in all the 543 Lok Sabha seats.

So it’s not surprising that the educated rational Indian feels that the Baba is a distrustful attention seeker whose crusade against corruption is nothing but a sham to garner more publicity. His campaign appears to be a RSS-BJP backed strategy to corner the government. People do not want him to hijack their mandate for personal gains. I think it’s high time these self proclaimed gurus realise that you can’t take the common man for a ride anymore! Baba Ramdev should stick to his “Jhoom Jhoom Jhoom Baba” routine on Astha channel. Not everyone can be Anna Hazare . . .

Will the Lokpal bill boost India's waning investor confidence?

Today corruption is one of India's biggest problems. India's business and investment climate is perceived abroad as at grave risk from corrupt practices. In 2010 India was ranked 87th out of 178 countries in Transparency International's Corruption Perceptions Index. So how is corruption affecting investor confidence in India?

As per the seventh wave of Investment Confidence Index (ICI) survey report by JP Morgan and ValueNotes, after inflation, corruption is second most negative economic indicator currently for Indian investors.

Follow the below link to read more about how corruption is affecting investor confidence in India.

http://www.valuenotes.com/blog/community/Aniket/Will-the-Lokpal-bill-boost-Indias-waning-investor-confidence/86

Source: JP Morgan and ValueNotes Investment Confidence Index (ICI) survey, 7th wave

Mumbai’s war with political hoardings

Well there was a time when, while driving on Mumbai’s roads you would look out for those funny Amul billboards or have pretty film stars staring down at you from advertising hoardings. But off late the only hoardings/billboards you get to see every where are put up by political parties wishing their leaders a happy birthday or congratulating them on some electoral win or welcoming them into the city or .. uummm …. just about anything! So instead of your pretty Bollywood starlets, we have kurta or lungi clad ugly politicians in various poses staring into your face through awful & garish hoardings. I had once actually seen a nanasaheb someone pose with his dog on such a hoarding!! In fact I had read somewhere that nearly 90% of the hoardings in Mumbai are political while the remaining are religious or cultural. To add to it political parties mostly pay fees only for 50% of their total hoardings while the rest are illegal. Should we be surprised? Instead of earning revenues from these political hoardings, BMC spends around INR 1lac daily to get them removed as it has to deploy a vehicle and four employees in each ward every day to bring them down.

So it was really encouraging to see Maharashtra’s new CM, Prithviraj Chavan ordering his supporters to pull down all the hoarding congratulating him on becoming the CM. This led to BMC going on overdrive and pulling down over 500 unauthorised hoardings in Mumbai in a single day!

Actually in July 2010, Mumbai high court had said that a political leader whose picture appears on illegal hoardings or banners can be prosecuted. But funnily the fine for illegal display of hoardings in India is INR 50 to 100 irrespective of their size. Continuing offense attracts a princely penalty of INR 10/day! Also politicians argue that these banners do not bear the name of the person who put them up, so it gets difficult to prosecute the offender. But I think it’s high time our leaders are made accountable for acts of their party workers. There has to be a code of conduct for the party. Some one has to be accountable. We cannot let them treat our city as their personal blackboard!

India to bid for Olympics 2020 – case of putting the cart before the horse?

Well finally the Commonwealth Games are over and India came a creditable second in the medals tally. What started with a sour taste, thankfully ended with a silver lining. The whole world stood up and appreciated India’s efforts, while the opening and closing ceremonies received special mention in the global press. Indians showed the world that they can organize an event of such big magnitude and make it a grand success. So should we be really proud of ourselves as Indians?

As we bask in the afterglow of the mega event, have we forgotten the rampant corruption which shook the nation a month ago? Did we achieve the main objective of the Games in terms of promoting sports, infrastructure and tourism? Did we manage to showcase India as a progressive developed world power?

Even before we try to get answers to the above questions, interestingly now dear Mr. Kalmadi and the Indian Olympic Association has announced that they want India to bid for the 2020 Olympics! What does this mean? Another chance to fill up their pockets?

Do we really need to spend so much on a mega event, where a country of a billion people cannot even win a handful of medals? Even today nearly 30% of India’s population lives under the poverty line, the overall national literacy rate is just about 65% and most people still do not have basic sanitation facilities. There isn’t even basic sports infrastructure in most Indian cities. Most of our athletes come from rural areas, get basic training facilities and have to undergo tremendous hardships to just even survive. Even today India has less then 25 astro turf grounds for hockey, (is it still really our national game?) while in a country like Holland, which is maybe as much as the size of Goa, there are more than 450 astro turf grounds!!

Interestingly, the budget allocation for sports this year (2010) in India, has gone down from last year's Rs 3,706 crore to Rs 3,565 crore, a major chunk of which, Rs. 2,069, crores was earmarked for the Commonwealth Games. More money is being spent on events than sports promotion and development. Now isn’t this a perfect example of ‘Putting the cart before the horse’.

Instead of dreaming about mega events like Olympics, we should first concentrate on improving our grass root level sports infrastructure. We need a sports academy in every state dedicated for the development of sportsmen (not cricket) and sports. Sports should be made an integral part of elementary education. Scouts should be nominated to visit every small town of India and hunt for talent which can be nurtured. We need sportsmen and athletes before sports events. But only if the Indian Olympic Association understood this!

Commonwealth Games or ‘Personal wealth’ Games?

Just after the closing of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Australia, when it was announced that India was elected to host the 2010 Commonwealth Games, a wave of jubilation swept through out the nation. The Indian Olympic Association promised to dish out the best even sporting bonanza even seen in India.

The total budget estimated for hosting the Games is USD 1.6 billion; and this amount excludes non-sports-related infrastructure development in the city like airports, roads and other structures. This will likely make the 2010 Commonwealth Games the most expensive Commonwealth Games ever. The first question which comes to mind is - do we really need to spend so much on these games, when there isn’t even basic sports infrastructure in the country? Most athletes have to spend their own money for training and coaching, and when they become successful because of their own efforts, the country claims them as ‘sons and daughters of the nation’!

Anyways, now that we have been selected to host the event, the picture today is absolutely shameful. Most of the games venue are incomplete and have been slated to miss the deadlines. Even the completed work has been branded as substandard, with leakages starting within a week’s time. Everyday the newspapers scream out reports of blatant corruption, irregularities in building standards, loss of revenue, or overpayments in handing out contracts. All this has been creating an absolutely sorry image of our country around the world.

Now when it’s just over a month remaining for the opening ceremony, our respected prime minister, Mr. Manmohan Singh has suddenly woken up and is taking a personal interest in the completion of the work for the games. He has appointed a new group of ministers to oversee preparations, visit games' venues each week to monitor progress and ensure contractors meet fresh deadlines.

We can only hope that the people concerned really buck up now, forget about filling their personal pockets and try to salvage the games and India’s image. It’s high time they stop making this a ‘Personalwealth Games’!!

India's 64th Independence Day

As India celebrates its 64th independence day, let’s take a moment to think about all the people who laid down their lives for the country. Thousands of martyrs with a single dream of an independent motherland threw themselves into the freedom fight against the British. Their vision was a free independent, fair, democratic nation where the people’s progress is imperative. The question after 64 years is; have we achieved their dream?

Indian still is counted as a third world country with nearly 40% of the population living under the poverty line even today. Since 1991, inter-state economic inequality in India has consistently grown; the per capita net state domestic product of India's richest states is about 3.2 times that of the poorest states. With rampant corruption, internal conflicts, illiteracy, an ever growing population, we need to ask ourselves a lot of questions.

Actually, we all know what the problems and their solutions are. We just need to dig deep and think about all the martyrs who laid their lives, so that we enjoy freedom. We just need to take the correct decisions, do the right things. Today, let’s each one pledge to make this country a better place to live in, by contributing our squirrel’s share. Jai Hind !

Meter Jam - Once more please !!

Meter Jam, the campaign against auto and taxi drivers yesterday, can be termed ‘successful’ as it created a lot of awareness among the commuters as well as the auto/taxi drivers. Nearly 30,000 people supported the campaign by signing on the website, while many more boycotted auto and Taxis, opting to walk or use public transport.

It was really heartening to see many senior citizens, giving the cold shoulder to autos and instead opting to walk. But at the same time it was equally frustrating to see many educated youngsters, run after autos and taxis. Though most auto drivers refused to accept the success of the campaign, they have accepted the fact that commuters will no longer take nonsense lying down.

Surely, this one off campaign is not expected to bring a sea change in the behaviour of these auto/taxi drivers, but it surely brought about awareness. I sincerely hope that we have these campaigns periodically to continue the pressure on these errant drivers and increase awareness.

A big hug to all the commuters who supported the campaign; and for those who ran after the autos/taxis and got rejected once again … .well you deserved it!!

Customer harassment by Vodafone

I just faced a real horrifying incidence while trying to close my father-in laws account with Vodafone. I had earlier called their customer care number (which is charged from now on by the way!!) and requested them to close the account. After taking all the verification, they tried to convince me why not to close the account. But when I clearly told them that I was not interested in continuing, they asked me to send a mail requesting them to close the account from the ‘Registered Email Id” for that number.

The Email ID that has been registered with that number is my wife's number as my father-in-law is a senior citizen and not computer literate. Accordingly I sent them an Email from the registered email ID on the 22nd of July. But to date they haven’t closed the account and I got a bill for the whole last month, even when the number hadn't been used at all.

Today I once again called up the cust care. Now they tell me a new story, the request they said was made from a 3rd party email .. it seems!! The Email ID does not have the name of my Father-in law in it!! Now they want me to send a request from my father-in-law’s personal email Id. I told them that he is a senior citizen and not computer literate. On that the ridiculous solution they gave was to create a new Email ID in my father-in-laws name and then send a cancellation request to them!!! I mean how ridiculous is that? When you have registered an email ID for that number and you have been sending your bills on that I, why can’t you accept a cancellation request from that ID?

This is just a way to harass the customers who want to close their accounts. When you need a new number they’ll send their agents to your house and goody talk you into believing that they are their for all your needs, but when you want to close the account, they show their true colours!

Meter Jam !!

For all you commuters who have forever faced the rickshaw menace in Mumbai, here’s an opportunity to strike back! Tired with the rickshaw drivers’ unwillingness to take passengers for a small distance, meter cheating, fake mater cards and unruly behaviour, a movement called as ‘Meter Jam’ has been formed by a group of Mumbaikars.

‘Meter Jam’ calls for a non-cooperation movement on Thursday, 12th August, 2010 where an appeal has been made to all mumbaikars to reject autos and taxis and bring their meter to a grinding halt for a day. Commuters are encouraged to arrange car-pool, alternate transportation or use public transport for the day.

Commuters who wish to support this movement can register themselves at http://www.meterjam.com/ and show their support. I have already registered with the website and have pledged not to use autos or taxis on the 12th of Aug!

Looks like this time, the hunter’s gonna be hunted!!

Rickshaw menace in Mumbai

Ask any vehicle owner or a person who does not own a vehicle, what the biggest menace on Mumbai’s roads today is … well apart from the zillion potholes, I’m sure each and every one of then will point their fingers at the ubiquitous rickshaw drivers.

Private vehicle owners, complain that it’s the rickshaw drivers who always break the lanes without giving any signals, stop just about anywhere on the road, again without giving any signals and start suddenly from their parked position, guess what, again without giving any signal! If you try to reason with them regarding this bad driving and not following of traffic rules, invariably they will fight with you using the foulest of language and they always have the other rickshaw drivers rushing to their support. They have absolutely no respect for basic civic sense or courtesy.

Now coming to the plight of the people who are forced to use the service of these princely rickshaw drivers daily. Every time a person gets off a crowded train in Mumbai, the first thing he prays for is that he gets lucky today and at least one rickshaw driver is willing to ferry him home. But alas, if wishes were horses …. Beggars would ride!! The Rickshaws refuse to ply your route as if it’s their right to refuse you every time. I guess they get some sadistic pleasure out of it! And the funniest part is they refuse just about every route, making you wonder why are they even driving a rickshaw? Will they decide where you need to go?

As per the law, they are supposed to ferry you wherever you want and cannot refuse you. But it never happens. Even if you try to forcefully sit inside the auto, after the driver refuses to ferry you, he’ll either give you excuses such as ‘petrol nahi hai’ or he will simply refuse to move. They care a damn even if you threaten to lodge a complaint against them.

Well, the papers scream out everyday, giving numbers for help lines and email addresses for commuters to complaint against such errant rickshaw drivers. But does anything actually happen after you complaint? No! We had a bad experience with a rickshaw driver last week, and like a true blood Mumbaikar wanted to fight back against injustice. So we filed an on-line complaint against the errant driver with his auto registration number, the place and time of incidence. But to date nothing has happened of it!

The Traffic Police as well as the RTO really need to be serious about this rickshaw menace and try to help the commuters who face tremendous difficulty everyday because of this.
The solution to this could be that, the police can post officers during peak hours, at specific rickshaw stands, especially outside railway stations, bus stations, etc and see to it that the rickshaw drivers do not refuse to ferry commuters. Also the RTO should give basic soft skills and civic sense training to all the rickshaw drivers and help them to improve their image.
On the part of commuters, they should make it a point to continue to complaint against errant drivers hoping that at least some of them will be pulled up.

So till the time the authorities take some real strict actions against these errant rickshaw drivers, lets keep the prayers going!

Do not buy car logos from the black market

Every time you stop at a signal now a days, the first thing you notice is that most of the cars have been stripped of their maker logos/monograms. At first I found it amusing, till yesterday when I discovered that the logo on my Tata Indica was also missing! Till now the logo thieves were targeting higher value car brands like Mercedes, BMW, Honda, Skoda, etc but off late even logos from Marutis and Tata have been disappearing.

Various newspapers have been reporting that these gangs mostly consist of school children, which is really shocking. These kids get anywhere from Rs. 25 to Rs. 500 depending upon which logo that can steal. Logos of Mercedes and BMW are the most sought after. Many schools have been facing problems with their students having been caught red handed while stealing logos. Also since most car owners don’t register a case of theft for the logos, police are unable to take any action.

But who are the customers for such stolen logos? Apart from the few rickshaw and truck drivers who pretend they drive BMW rickshaws and BMW trucks, we our selves who have their logos stolen, are the biggest customers! A second hand Honda logo costs around Rs. 1000 while an original costs somewhere around Rs. 4,000. So many people who have their logos stolen prefer to get logos in the black for a much lower price. Unless we stop this practice and only buy logos from authorised dealers, this logo theft will go on. The only way to kill supply is by killing demand. Also please inform the nearest police station that your logo has been stolen so that the police can keep a watch and try to nab the culprits.

And ya, well I did go to an authorised Tata dealer and got a new logo fixed.