Foolishness of Jan Lok Pal

This time I won't bore you with introductions about my laziness and will get straight to the point. But before that a disclaimer. I am a staunch believer in democracy and free markets. I think that the above two if combined together effectively will bring prosperity and raise living standards. So if you do not believe in democracy then I have nothing to say or argue against, than probably humbly suggest you should move to China, Singapore or Hong Kong. If you believe in democracy then read on.

India is a democratic republic with a constitution. And the only way to measure representation in a democracy is through elections. We can debate about what type it needs to be (a parliamentary or presidential), but free and fair elections are the only way someone can claim representation. Irrespective of virtue and deeds, nobody can claim representation unless he or she has won an election. So for Anna Hazare, who has not bothered to contest even a local election, to claim that he represents the people is both flawed and dangerous. History is littered with graveyard of revolutions that trusted a few good men. Now apparently many of his middle class/elitist followers and he himself has claimed that there is no use contesting an election because poor and illiterate people are bought during elections. This view displays ignorance at best and an utter contempt for the poor at worst. It ignores the aspirational value for a better job, better education , better health that the poor have repeatedly attached to their vote and kicked out governments (You need not look beyond Bihar). And corruption which has so enraged the urban middle class affect the poor more than anybody else. So irrespective of the cause or the solution (even if it is good) no one has a right in a democracy to impose a view or a bill through blackmail.

Let us look at the solution, the so called cure of all ills. Now I am not a lawyer so I will leave it to people who know the law to decipher and shred the details of flaws in Jan Lok Pal Bill (read this Link). Corruption is only a symptom, disease is lack of reforms/governance. However strong may be the Law unless you attack the disease you will not get far. I am amazed that the same left liberals who argue capital punishment will not deter people from murdering and raping, think that Jan Lok Pall bill (which is equal to capital punishment without parole) will end corruption. And the mere idea that by creating another institution with overarching powers (judge, jury and executioner all rolled into one. There is reason why our constitution mandates seperation of power between legislature, judiciary and executive) will solve problems in existing institutions is absurd. And why would you trust this new draconian institution? The answers seems to be, well it will contain Nobel prize winners and other assorted worthies. Again, history is littered with graveyards of societies that trusted a few good men over an established due process.

As I said the solution is not another law but hard economic and governance reforms. I have argued before that the limited economic reforms that we carried out in 1991 has greatly reduced corruption. In the 80's ordinary people had to bribe a politician to get a gas connection, today there are hundreds of choices for us for each and every basic need and even luxuries. The argument that corruption has increased since 80's because loss to exchequer has gone up is again flawed. Of course the absolute loss to exchequer has gone up, that is because Indian economy has grow around 7-8% since late 90s and instead of gas connections it is spectrum licenses that the politician has discretionary power over. The solution is take out the discretionary power out of politicians and bueracracy and empower people through second generation reforms. It is ironic that one class of people that benefited most from 91 reforms is marching and lighting candles to appoint a super cop ,who will, looking at the selection panel will definitely be from an ideological spectrum staunchly opposed to reforms (see analysis here on link between corruption and economic freedom)

So Dear Middle class, instead of marching and lighting candle form a voting block and push for economic reforms. Not only it will reduce corruption but make our country more prosperous.

P.S: Even if someone were to fast or use any other means to force/blackmail the government to implement economic reforms I would still oppose it because as I said it is undemocratic and dangerous.

Dantewada and free markets

There is nothing more to be written and said about the Dantewada massacre. Points of view from both sides of the aisle have been explored and debated from fundamentalist morons like Arundathi Roy to intelligent policy/strategy options from INI bloggers , Vikram sood and others. It's really good that public imagination even though momentarily has been focused on this grave problem and it may just help to gather the lacking political will.

But there is one aspect of this problem that I believe goes to the root of the issue. The maoisits and its intellectual torch bearers will tell you that Big Corporations, Police and State in collusion are taking away land and exploiting the poor tribals. I have no doubt in my mind that it is true. But the solution is not armed struggle, killing and stopping any kind of economic development. There is a notion that tribals want to continue their way of life and do not need any development, as Ms Roy so eloquently describes a police officer saying " Ma'am Tribals are not greedy". I think that is just bulllshit. Most of the tribals want to get out of poverty and an archiac way of living, to get better education, housing, wealth and prosperity. It is people like Ms Roy who sit in urban centers who romanticize tribal life as if subsistence living is some elevated status of being. Even if some tribals want to continue their way of life, I would consider them selfish and hypocritical
because if India wants to become a superpower and pull people out of poverty we need to mine
in those areas, increase exports and create jobs.

The problem is not that tribals do not want to develop or development is ruining a way of life, the problem is state intervention and lack of property rights. State intervention in distributing tribal land for Industrial use creates corruption, political meddling and land sharks resulting in this endless cycle of violence. The solution lies in that libertarian idea of property rights, where tribals get to negotiate a fair price and a fair deal for their land directly with corporate houses. Corporate houses are not fools, they know that in the long run it is in their interest to help in development of Tribals and be mindful of environment. The role of the government is to create regulation and act as a facilitator to make sure there is no unfair advantage to either side.

We can bomb all we want or romanticize a way of life, unless there is property rights, this problem will surface in one way or other. We should stop being a welfare state where the poor are always with the begging bowl, but create an enabling environment so that they can pull themselves out of poverty.

Mera number kab aayega?

Warning long post

I am finally wakened up from immense lethargy, and it took a tragedy of immense proportions to force me to my laptop to write this post. Mumbai has been attacked, not just a bomb blast which we are resilient to, but an attack where 21 year old maniacs sprayed bullets on streets and held a country to ransom. Its been 2 and half years, since I have called Mumbai home (fuck off Raj Thackeray ,whatever you think I am a Mumbaikar) and I love this City. So before going into my irritation of the attacks itself and pessimism I have that nothing is going to change, let me express my love.

I have lived in couple of cities before I came to Mumbai, but within a short period of time of being here, I felt belonged. Yes it’s suffocating crowds, nauseating pollution, chaos of daily life, sheer callousness of its citizens and the struggle to get basic things done irritates the hell out of me sometimes. But the city is amazingly free and I do not experience the same freedom anywhere in India. The freedom to make money and dream big without guilt, the freedom to steal a kiss from your partner without even a cursory glance from people around, the freedom for women to dress, party and work without feeling unsafe and the freedom of its art/theatre to express itself without censorship, this city is free. And it is this freedom that those fucking insane bastards tried to demolish.

The country seems to be saying enough is enough. But I am pessimistic and I am really waiting for my turn to be killed or maimed (yes its cynical, but sadly true) and here’s why

Politics: Politician seems to be the favorite whipping guy this time and in a way rightly so. But we forget that we are a democracy and in a democracy we get the leaders we deserve. And the way Indian political system is designed, it’s unlikely anything’s going to change. We can put pressure on Congress and BJP through protest marches, candlelight vigils & media, but what do you do with Mayawathi who will be more concerned about Dalit votebank, what you will do with Mulayam who will look for Muslim Yadav combination and what will you do with Karunanidhi who does not think beyond Dravidian movement. Our politics from mid 80’s onwards have become too regionalized and is determined by psephology and not ideology. Ideology evolves and can be changed but not psephology.

Media: Am I the only one disgusted by the way media behaved and is continuing to behave. Somehow Barkha Dutt, Arnab Gowswami and Rajdeep Sardesai think they represent the moral consciousness of this country. Let me make it clear dudes, it’s sad that you have become famous journalists, because you guys are the biggest morons that this country has ever produced. And they are immoral too (can anyone tell me how Narendra Modi visiting Trident to get mileage is any different from Arnab Goswami crying out hundredth time, Exclusive footage?).

Intellectuals: I should have clubbed this brigade with the Media. Sandeep was right the biggest intellectuals in this country are also the ones with the least common sense. And the intellectuals on TV giving rousing speeches of enough is enough, are doing so because what they call second home (Taj, Oberoi) has been attacked. Where will they now sit, sip coffee, and cry out even terrorists have human rights, where will they now write scripts of movies glorifying poverty and how the hell will they now throw up the root cause argument?. I am convinced that if terrorists had only shot in CST, Andheri and such suburbs and gone home, you would find the same morons ranting on TV about root cause.

Army/Security forces: Before I get hanged, let me say that I have immense respect and awe for anybody who risk their lives to protect others. I can’t do anything close to it for the life of me. But it doesn’t hurt to ask some critical questions only to learn from mistakes in the future. I do not think the operation was handled professionally by the NSG/Army. I am not even taking about the delay in arrival or lack of ammunition/equipment. But some basic things like media management, cordoning off surrounding areas (Wasn't it shocking after of Nariman house encounter a thousand people were allowed to rush in even before operation was complete, was it a cricket match for god’s sake?) etc. Also how can the NSG claim especially the Nariman house encounter, as successful, when they lost one of their men and all hostages? If I was JK Dutt I would be terribly unhappy and give my men more rigorous training.

Finally, we the people: Terror attacks are not new in India. So let me ask this question, how many of us voted in whichever last election, with internal security as the top agenda? I am sure it will be a miniscule percentage and I would like to see somebody do a survey during the next general elections (again I am sure it will be a miniscule percentage). Price of onions matters more for us than price of life. I am all for saying enough is enough, but I am afraid that as a nation we are more concerned about symbolism than some real action.

I am pessimistic guys, so I am waiting that Mera number kab aayega

Back hopefully more consistently

I resume blogging not with something original but two links to articles about current issues by prominent writers. First the unnecassary violence in Mumbai by Raj, Pratap Bahnu Mehta is bang on in this opinion piece in the Indian Express, read the full thing, he is bang on when he says

"The crisis in Maharashtra cannot be handled by making diversity a bedrock value. Rather the bedrock value of our society ought to be freedom: the freedom to call any place in the country home, the freedom to alter culture, the freedom subject to practical constraints, to speak any language, the freedom to break out of the fetter of compulsory identities. Out of this freedom new diversities and cultural forms will emerge. But at the moment the discourse on diversity fails in significant ways: it is too compatible with the imposition and preservation of compulsory identities, and too compatible with the idea that each Indian has his appropriate place whether by virtue of geography or kinship. Tocqueville once defined democracy as being a society to the effect that where you are going matters more than where you came from. In this sense identity talk of the kind we are seeing in Maharashtra and the responses to it are deeply anti-democratic".

Second is an oped piece in WSJ by Flemming Rose , wonderfully put.

Plan to write some original stuff soon:)

Getting Hooked

I am getting married this Sunday and you dear readers are invited (i think we have to make extra arrangement since the readers of this blog runs into millions:)). I am leaving tommorow from the monotony called office for a whirlwind holiday of two weeks, i plan to resume blogging afterwards. I am attaching the invite (written and designed by moi)

A freedom fanatic's defence

It’s been a quite a long break. The reasons are varied, but mostly, I blame it on my laziness and probably also little loss of interest. But I still love writing and one day want to write professionally (I know I know I can hear those sighs & smirks) and want to stay in touch.

I come from a fairly liberal family. Even though traditional & deeply rooted in Hindu ethos, I like to believe my family has changed with times & become more liberal. However in arguments and discussions I find myself all alone defending the absoluteness of individual freedom. Its mainly because I am a freedom fanatic (I think my family thinks of me that way) & my family belong to the category of "but sayers". I always take the view that freedom is absolute and there can be no restrictions, while they argue freedom is all right but it shouldn’t offend, its ok until it becomes obscene etc etc.

To cast the net a little wider I think in India, majority are like my family "but" sayers, who believe freedom should come with restrictions & shouldn’t cross the limits designed by society. They essentially make two arguments to buttress this, I will in the post try to counter those arguments.

The first argument is a communal one and made by the Hindu right (but widely accepted and supported by the middle class). It argues that always Hindus and Hindu religion is targeted by Hussein & his likes and it’s a deliberate strategy to undermine Hinduism. The argument also goes on to condemn those liberals who cry murder in favor of free speech when Hinduism is targeted but look the other way when Islam or Christianity is targeted. Arun shourie’s brilliant essay "Weak to strong, Strong to the weak" argues this point better than any I have read.


Those who selectively support free speech are not true liberals. I am no fan of these pseudo liberals who are basically leftists, who by very nature are hypocritical. Most of them also oppose economic freedom, and for me it’s much greater concern, because it affects millions of people by keeping them in poverty. By being hypocritical & partial in supporting free speech, they do more harm than good. (Ayodhya movement was justified based on this). While I agree completely with the hypocrisy of the left, that still is not an valid argument to ban or arrest Hussein from painting whatever he chooses to paint.

The second argument is more a personal one and made by my cousin Gayathrakka. While getting heated up in the argument over Barado paintings & Hussein paintings, she asked me how would I feel if somebody offended my family (mother, sister, father etc.)? It’s a very interesting argument, and I admit I wasn’t convincing in my counter argument that day. But here is the essential counter argument that I think is rational and fair.

First, my family is my private matter. I share my life with my family, I love them, they love me, we live together, we do things together and have lots of mutual respect and love. And this relationship with my family is not based on my belief, its reality. But your religion & humans relationship with almighty is based only on belief. And belief by nature can be both rational and idiosyncratic. While nobody has a right to question my private relationships (It’s not somebody else’s freedom), everybody in a free society has the right to ridicule, criticize my public beliefs. Tomorrow, if enough majority (thousand of people) believe than wearing jeans is evil, will you ban jeans?.

Second, how come we humans are in the business of protecting gods, shouldn’t it be the other way around?. If your Lakshmi, Ganesha etc. are so powerful why don’t they just blow Hussein to pieces for offending them? Pratap Bahnu Mehta one of best columnist writes in The Indian express,

"From a religious point of view, I find it to be the height of impiety and hubris to suppose that we humans are in the business of protecting our gods rather than the other way round. It betrays a fragility of belief and a crisis of confidence that genuinely religious people ought to find offensive. Our social contract is that we honour the dignity of each individual by giving them freedom of expression, that we value dissent and new forms of articulation even if some of it runs the risk of being silly. But make no mistake about it. The Talibanisation of India is under way. What else do you call a republic where artist after artist is feeling insecure?"

Bang on, couldn’t have put it better. Gaythrakka are you convinced?:)

Being Libertarian

Do not think in categories writes Amit verma of Indiauncut in this excellent piece in the Mint. Its really tough being a libertarian in his country, though the principle behind the thought looks so very rational and logical for a society to follow. Think about it, why would anybody have a problem with an idea that goes “A person is the absolute owner of their own life and should be free to do whatever they wish with their person or property, as long as they allow others the same liberty”. But in India indivdual freedom is given the least importance and is trampled upon almost on a daily basis.

I am not surprised that as a society we care two hoots about individual freedom, and I do not forsee much hope of things changing in the near future. Because unlike the west, the least common denominator of our society is not the individual but the family and in most rural areas the communityor the caste. At the heart of expression of freedom, is expression of a choice, but even today in many communities individuals hardly make any choice, it get worse if the individual is a woman. Be it choice of education, professional carrier, or even marriage choice of the family/community often overrides choice of the individual. That’s why I feel even if the policy is smart and designed for the benefit of the individual, it will fail in India because it has to be delivered throught the community or the family.

But I live in hope, our generation, atleast some of us are recognizing the importance of individual freedom and though we are now a small number, we are bound to grow. Two cheers to feedom.

PS: This post will come out i know as if i am anti family, no no, mom, dad, sister, bro-in-law, endless cousins & aunts and would be partner i love you all:)