DEMONETIZATION – A QUEUE TO END ALL QUEUES!!

World War I was a war fought to end all wars. And now we have Demonetization with a Queue to end all Queues. In January we should expect no corruption, cashless or less cash society, no drug mafia, no terrorism, and no political corruption. Full stop!! And we have men and women, hoping for a better tomorrow, dying in Queues. Similarities are remarkable but alas, we have no Russia to reveal the details of back-door treaties. And just one more thing, if there was a WAR to end all wars, there was also a Hitler to follow.

But this is not about demonetization. This is about the implementation. How do we measure success? If only good intentions were to make every policy a success, then I should be the Prime Minister of the county. Then an obvious rebuttal would be how one knows my intentions are good. And that is exactly my point. Good intentions are subjective. What I think is good for the country, may not necessarily be good according to some other person.

So I have some questions I would like to ask BJP.

•  Is a policy with good intentions and with no implementation plans better than a policy with less ambitious results? 
•  Also, Plato o plomo. BJP has given us two choices. If we are with them, we are good to go. And if we question them, we are corrupt and hoarders of black money.
• When the PM said that people have to stand in Queues for sugar, I just to want to ask the government if the job of government is to reduce the number of queues or make more queues.

After BJP decided to take off all the notes 500 and 1000 rupee notes from the market, I was in a dilemma. I always wondered if Mahatma Gandhi, printed on the note, was smiling on us or with us. I think secretly he knew that one day this would happen!!!

INDIA in 2015-START THINKING!!

Even before 2015 started, India was celebrating the incoming of The President of USA, Barack Obama. He was invited as the chief guest on Republic Day and probably the most celebrated one. And before we knew, January was over in pomp and splendour. A black guy from the opposite side of the world advised us to be tolerant and it was a cue to the whole intolerance drama in the near future!!

February was the month of David vs. Goliath. AAP not only won Delhi elections but gave a new ray of hope for an alternate party in the future. A few administrative hiccups and less activism have earned Kejriwal a rightful place on the post of Chief Minister of Delhi!!

March brought an end to section 66a of IT Act and gave netizens a legal right to express their views on social media. There were a lot of voices of victory and hash tags on twitter stating the victory of Fundamental Rights. But the loophole is in form of section 69 of the same act, whereby government can block anything if it finds inappropriate. Now your voice will be suppressed even before it rises. At least you would not get a knock from cops with an arrest warrant!!

In April our neighbour, NEPAL, was struck with a disaster. With the chaotic and unplanned development, a disaster was waiting to happen. And an earthquake of 7.9 on Richter scale did the rest. We provided all the resources we could and with a stick note that we will ask something back. And over the top, media was blamed for being insensitive. Nepal recovered with a constitution and a bitter experience!!

May was the month for socialism. Prime Minister Modi launched the biggest and cheapest social security schemes world has ever seen-12 rupees for accidental insurance and 330 rupees for life insurance. Go and grab the deal* before the offer runs out!!

*Read the offer choice carefully before investing.

We gave the world International Yoga Day, to be celebrated on 21 June every year. It is one the thing I like about our PM. I think no nation has been able to integrate the culture of a nation at an Institutional level. We do not find International Halloween Day sponsored by UN. Thanks PM Modi!!

In July we pledged to be digitally synchronised with DIGITAL INDIA programme. Not to mention, but the biggest programme in the world of the kind. It is a comprehensive and visionary programme for a nation which is still living in the past. When more than eighty percent of the population are under deprivation category according to Socio-economic Caste Census with one or multiple basic deprivations, how can India be digitally aware? What will broadband do for a boy with no electricity or a shelter to live in? A question for those who are digitally aware and reading this.

August sounded the reservation bell with Patel agitation. They demanded for reservation. Yes, the most affluent caste in Gujarat!! Fifty percent of reservation sounds a little bit harsh but it raised a very important point- It’s high time to revisit reservation.

September was the time to call in favour for help given to Nepal in April. India asked Nepal to rethink the constitution which took eleven years and an earthquake to pass because it was worried about the rights of madheshis-a hindu group. Gujaral Doctrine and Panchsheel principles were openly violated when India tried to play big brother with Nepal. Nepal on the other side of border went to CHINA!!

October fall brought cheers for women in India. After 68 years of Independence, India actualised the demand that women can also fly for combat role in Air force. I think women will fly much better than men. Just want to say-ALL THE BEST!!

November saw the Samvidhan divas or Constitution day. The representatives explained very minutely what constitution represented when it was made six decades back. Quotes by Ambedkar, Gandhi were thrown like bombs. But I missed the part where someone could have explained what Constitution represented in present society.

December saw the after grief of Chennai rains of November. North was a little late to recognise that it India also consists of South. Sorry Chennai, we did not know that you existed!!

Only three weeks are left before we start 2016 and forget about 2015. Start thinking!!

ODD or EVEN - AAP ki CHOICE!!

I am sure you would have met people not eating chicken on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. Now these people cannot drive cars on the roads of Delhi, if they own a car ending with odd registration number. So pious!! And for other days of the week, you can drive cars ending with even numbers. And Sunday is Free-for-all day!!

Why does it seem that this regulation is only for the middle class? The rich already have dozens of cars and they can easily pick and choose a car every single day of the week. The lower class will worry the least.

Let’s calculate the odds and evens of the experiment!!

The other problems that Delhi can face are the mismanagement of markets due to influx of customers on specific days; regulation of cars and commercial vehicles entering Delhi to cross it as alternate route is not available; genuine emergency problems; sensitivity training of traffic police department towards the regulation; the challan cost per car in case of defiance; poor level of public transport; and other minute problems that can spring up. It can also result in increase in number cars parked on the roads of Delhi as everyone would need two cars to commute freely.

On the even side, pollution level will come down. The opportunity cost calculated from the odds seems counter the sustainable development argument. The prerequisite for sustainable development is development.

Now it is up to Delhites!! Do they want to live in a smoke filled city and shorten their lifespan Or they are ready to make some adjustments? The pro-active citizens speaking about the Fundamental rights should come forward with the details of duties they perform as a citizen of the nation. If the government had done nothing, pro-rights citizens would have demanded a strict action. And now when a bona fide step is being taken, the same citizens have a problem because their rights are being infringed upon!!

Engngane Irikkunnu, Haryana!! (How are you, Haryana!!)

Our PM, while speaking in Parliament, gave a very cohesive vision of India. I wonder why the media houses and other states have not picked up the vision. He imagined a India where diversity meets the unity. He advised that each state should celebrate one chosen state every year. For example, Haryana celebrates Kerala for a particular year. One culture meets another culture. One religion understands another religion.

Frankly, I am not a Modi fan but intellections like this make me proud of our PM. He did not ask to make this programme an event and a annual bazaar but rather an experience. The students should learn basic linguistic skills to interact with people of different languages. The local mela (fairs) should focus on the delicacies and cuisines of the states. Music and dance festivals of that particular state could arouse cultural curiosity. This can also be a medium of entertainment which is live and real rather than virtual means of entertainment prevalent in the present society.

“Long years ago, we made a tryst with destiny...” And I believe we will truly achieve our destiny when the vision of our current PM will come true.

Let us contemplate what we can achieve!!

As a country we know very little of our country. We cannot even name the 29 States of our country; forego the culture of the region. This ignorance has taken the form of stereotypes and prejudices.  All South Indians are Tamilians for us; Biharis are not welcomed in Maharashtra; We need special laws for protection of people from North-East; Delhi is the rape Capital; and as many examples as number of people living in India.  We all have some bad experiences and some good experiences about a city but these isolated incidents cannot define the city. I strongly oppose calling Delhi as the rape capital of the country.

Socially, the knowledge about different cultures will help us abandon such stereotypes. It will build an assimilatory society which is progressive and peaceful. Economically, it will boost our domestic tourism. Politically, it will deepen the democracy and increase awareness about the political culture of the nation.

I would like to end this article by taking a little from the ‘I have a dream’ speech by Martin Luther King and modifying it to the following:

  

I have a dream that one day children of Haryana will greet children of Kerala in Malayalam-Engngane Irikkunnu.

I have a dream that one day the hills of eastern Himalayas will be connected by roads and people with the people of Thar.
I have a dream that one day a Tamilian will dance in a Punjabi marriage.
I have a dream that the present of the nation lives in a nation where they will not be judged by the region they come from but by the content of their character!!