AN EXCELLENT ARTICLE BY ANSHUL CHATURVEDI

"Rahul has got all those qualities and capabilities that are needed for a good Prime Minister", Singh, who has been working closely with the young leader, who turns 41 on June 19, told reporters… Describing Rahul as "quite mature", Singh said he has got the understanding of social and political issues. Besides being a member of the Gandhi family, he has the qualities of head and heart to strike rapport with people, he said. -

PTI report, June 19

Dear Rahul

Digvijay Singh has been stunning us to the point of incredulity the past week with his repeated assertions of undying loyalty, disguised as assessment reports certifying your immediate readiness to step into Dr Manmohan Singh’s chambers. If you skim through the stories and the responses of readers, you’d realize that he’s done more to draw sustained flak on to you than anything the opposition could have done. Since there’s no point addressing Diggy at the moment, given his state of mind, this small set of observations is addressed to you:

* Anybody halfway in a politically relevant position can “become PM”; it’s not as Herculean a task as it sounds, and acquiring the PM-ship has hardly been necessarily the same as achieving political primacy. Charan Singh became PM. Chandrashekhar became PM. Deve Gowda became PM, and yawned through most of it. IK Gujral became PM. Big difference it made to us – or to them. The chair is only as big as the stature of its occupant. So even if they thrust the PM-ship willy-nilly down your – and our – throats, as some sort of gift at some stage, it’ll hardly help give you greater stature.

* The biggest questions facing the political system have been questions of integrity. This is not to say that this is a Congress issue alone – there’s hardly any political organization that’s not part of the rot – but for someone who is apparently all set to run the country, it would be nice to know what you thought of the CWG management, or of the 2G spectrum scam, or of Adarsh. Or, for that matter, of Osama. The reality is that I have little clue; if I have to resort to Google to get an idea of your having said anything on the political issues of the day, well, that’s not how I’d like to know my PM-in-waiting. We’d like to know better what you think – not what the second rung of the Congress thinks of you. I mean, seriously, if they went on record to say you weren’t equipped to be PM, they wouldn’t be in the Congress, so what exactly are they proving by their assessment?

* Rita Bahuguna is making a joke of the issues facing farmers by deciding to make your birthday “farmer’s rights day”. I’d assume it would make you squirm as much as any outside observer. Please tell your party’s leaders that the more bizarre the levels to which they go to exalt you to score internal brownie points, the sillier they look – and make you look the same, since your silence can only be read as happy acceptance.

* The PM already has had enough damage to his reputation and standing; the man who was an exemplary Finance Minister keeps on being derided for being a stand-in for the family. How are we expected to take his functioning as PM with any degree of gravitas if every other day Congress leaders tell us that the only reason he’s not been asked to vacate yet is because you have graciously chosen not to step into 7 RCR. As it is, nobody outside the Congress says a good word for the man any more; at least give him his dignity within the system.

* There is a school of thought – you’d surely be aware of it – which says the whole exercise of letting things be the way they are the Centre as they currently are, is to pitch things for an internal regime change; to give the public a Rahul-led regime as relief from the quasi-paralysed Manmohan tenure. Each time people like Digvijay go public with such quasi-hysteric declarations, they merely strengthen that impression.

There’s no reason why anyone who can command a majority support in the Lok Sabha should not be Prime Minister, be it you or anyone else. Neither I nor anyone else need have a point of view on who can and who cannot be PM. But, please, let it not be handled as a running joke. Let the party celebrate your birthday; but let it not pitch to the country the spectacle of the prime ministership of India as a birthday present, all gift-wrapped, waiting for you to unwrap it. Seriously. Some things look better earned than gifted. Better to achieve greatness, even if a trifle late, than to have it thrust upon you - and that too, by Diggy Raja

BEST OF LUCK BJP

Indian politics would be dull if there was no BJP. It is only with the BJP in the 1990's that India for the first time had an effective opposition party, very important for Democracy, and an alternative government to the corrupt aimless somewhat sinister Congress Party.

Of course you can argue that the other great Democracy, Japan had one party ruling the country for 60 years, under the LDP......But the Congress Party is no LDP, and Indian bureaucrats don't measure up to their Japanese counter-parts.

It is the Japanese bureaucrats who played the primary role in Japanese post war success.

For that reason it is very important for INDIA to have an alternative party to choose from, even within a coalition framework.

So I urge the BJP to get its act together for 2014. The BJP needs to look to the future strategically, beyond their feet if they can as soon as possible. They need to reduce their links with the RSS as their philosophy will NEVER work in India (It will be a disaster)....and thus attempt a reincarnation of the Vajpayee style of government which sets broad horizons, under the cosmopolitan leadership of Arun Jaitley.

lack of governance and mis-governance.

India lacks adequate governance, which is extensively required to pull the country up to a first world status by 2050.

There is only so much the private sector can do. For the country overall, for the sake of its cohesion............ socially, politically, economically, morally its the governments duty and responsibility to do the rest strategically in a planned looking forward manner. One is quite certain the Ambani's or any other businessman when they deeply look at future business investments don't do so socially, politically, economically, morally......most of the time, but whether their business investment will make a profit and given them steady returns.

This lack of governance is simply indicated by the national budget in Delhi which represents a paltry 15% of GDP (the official GDP, and not the one with the black economy included which would mean India's actual GDP is closer to $4--4.5 billion).

Pranab Mukherjee sahib can India have a peoples budget of $400 billion for 2012-2013? With massive expenditures and investments in the job creating INDUSTRY and INFRASTRUCTURE sectors.

This lack of governance means only 30 million Indians out of a population of 1200 million Indians (including supposedly 250 million middle class Indians) pay tax. There is ample computerized systems in India from Bangalore, and national ID cards are being introduced, so lets double the taxable base to 60 million for the 2012--2013 budget. Apparently $1.5 trillion worth of Indian money is lying idle in Swiss accounts, and we don't know the true figure for the rest of the 70 odd tax havens.

Clearly in the tax sector there is a lack of effective efficient governance.

This lack of governance means large swathes of Indian society are little impacted by government actions. To them the government in Delhi is irrelevant.

Then you have mis-governance...which means the little impact with the little money the government does use to exercise its writ is itself misused, hence the corruption scandals about everything from Defense contracts to staging the Commonwealth Games, and the source of the only joke I Knew for quite a while:

Indian Neta in Washington invited to a rich Congressman's mansion overlooking the Potomac. They start on their 15 course meal served on an elegant mahogany table, including roast duck, lamb, the finest caviar and Belgian chocolates. The Congressman shyly ushers the neta to the window, at the end of the feast and speaks.."You see that bridge on that river over there.......10%....I made 10% from that."

The neta impressed invites the Congressman to his Dili mansion over looking the Yamuna, and in his white marble colonial style mansion he too offers up a 15 course feast for his American counterpart. At the end of the meal the neta beckons the Congressman to the window with a SLY GRIN and the traditional Indian nod of the head and as they both peer through the huge window, the neta whispers in child like delight......"You see bridge over there by the Yumuna.....can you see it?"

The Congressman is puzzled, "Bridge what bridge?"

Neta pointing to himself, "100%......me got it all! Son in Harvard, and my money in Mauritius/Hong Kong....wife daughter in London for the summer shopping"

Whats that oft repeated cliche? India is doing reasonably well despite its government.

Krittika Biswas..is it really racism

It all started with George Fernandez, as visiting Indian defense secretary being strip searched by American airport authorities in DC and another place twice in 2002 and 2003, and I thought....nah...must be April fools.....then ex-President Kalam is ID frisked on an American airline on his way to India more recently.......then the same to Azim Premji apparently, the billionaire IT businessman who is also a celebrity in India......Aamir Khan strip searched too in Chicago 2002, the most creative of new wave Hindi movie actors and directors........and SRK questioned for 66 minutes about certain unknown matters.......SRK says 2 hours, and that his name had triggered the questioning for 2 hours........"Is you name Khan" ....."Yes"....."Where are you from"......."India".............2 hours of this?.........Do all Khans from around the world who visit the USA go through this for 2 hours?........................Muslim name of Central Asian origin that originates from Ghengiz Khan.............and is a very popular name for Muslim's in Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and Bangladesh.

Could you imagine the Russian defense secretary being strip searched??? Or the Brazilian defense secretary?? Of course not..........there would be serious diplomatic repercussion; diplomatic expulsions....and so on. Brazil has already responded like with like.....reciprocity, "OK gringo you fingerprint our nationals visiting America, so we fingerprint your nationals visiting our country."

So the explanation?

Often this mistreatment against Indian public figures is explained in terms of 9/11 and the new "situation" in America.

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/FG14Df05.html

But I do not accept this, since presumably all other senior government figures from around the world of 192 nations should also logically be treated the same way as Fernandez. But there isn't a deluge of stories around this happening to other Public officials in other countries.

Because of Islamic names.................George Fernandez an Islamic name? Azim Premji stands out as an Islamic name?

Could it be simple racism? Yes but again there are many brown people countries, great and small around the world, and one does not hear stories of ill-treatment at airports against such people.

So what is going on?

___________________________________



1. Cases of this kind does not appear to happen to senior officials, and public figures of other nations great and small........unique to Indian Public Figures ONLY......of obvious public status, usually involving men who are clearly near retirement stage...........Grey hair, frail in the case of some....old, .................we are not talking of 20 something, 30 something stooges/patsies of Western intelligence out to do harm to little defenseless ole America.

2. Could be a simple issue of racism......brown country....though one should add that the USA will become a brown country by 2050, and is already a considerable mutli-racial society (34% non-European). But it does not seem to happen to important public figures of other brown country peoples, the bigger nations or the smaller ones....so whats up?

3. Some sections of American society are envious of India's rising status within the global society both as a military power, and an economic power, and by doing such things it is an expression of their dislike, and frustration at the gradual rise to prominence of India as a significant nation in the world............equally significant that these things have been happening very recently as in the last few years, in parallel with the rise of India's profile in the world........

Explanation number 3 seems to be most likely.
___________________________________

RS 5 HIKE IN PEROL

India is rich. Its actual economy measured by PPP is around $3600--3800 billion; the fourth richest nation on earth, and which will become the third richest in just a few years. India has money and India has resources. The Indian government frequently spends billions on worthless foreign defense equipment...billions...billions...billions, when focus should be made on domestic production of defense equipment, even if its substandard.

This practice carries on by all parties because it makes certain politicians, netas, senior military officers and arms middlemen in India rich, and they deposit the money in off shore accounts (Indira Gandhi and her family have been implicated, as have others)..............now imagine this elite putting the same amount of effort into securing India's gas & oil needs, by investing the necessary funds and implementing the necessary policies to make India self sufficient in gas and oil.

BUT they won't .

What is 3,000 crore fuel subsidy by the government?.......0.05% of GDP ($638 million) of the official Indian economy of $1300 billion. According to Karan Thapar this subsidy bill will rise to 98,000 crore or $20 billion in this financial year which the Indian government allegedly can't sustain.

Unfortunately this subsidy bill is seen as a COST, a burden on the state, rather than seeing it as another indicator of the India's economic rise, and booming economy.............like the Ambani building his $2 billion penthouse; Shobha De bragging on about her latest foray into a luxury hotel in India and outside........or India spending $10 billion or is it going to be eventually $20 billion on a 4th generation jet fighters whose technology will soon be out of date, from a foreign country.

Seeing fuel subsidy for the masses as a COST and burden which the government can't pay for is a neo-liberal alien Western concept. $20 Billion or 98,000 crore estimated fuel subsidy bill this year is still 0.5% of the real Indian economy as measured by PPP of $3600--3800 billion.

The Indian Budget of $200 billion is woefully too small. Only 15% of the official GDP...........a neo-liberal paradise. The government thus must find serious strategies to increase the budget to GDP ratio from the current 15% to at least 25% of GDP, through an effective new tax regime. Then in such a prosperous confident India governments won't feel mean spirited about spending a paltry 1% on fuel subsidy.

Subsidies are the only way, in the complete absence of a SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM to give a little help to the masses.

Thus I support annual subsidized national health-care to the tune of 4-5% of GDP.

I support annual subsidized national education for all up to the age of 16, spending 6% of GDP on education.

I support annual subsidized national development and infrastructure investment to the tune of 10% of GDP.

I support annual subsidized agricultural policies to the tune of 3% of GDP.

I support annual subsidized fuel to the tune of 1% of GDP, at least.

These can only be achieved by governments who accept that in power and in government they have a moral duty to uplift the masses beyond paying lip service to their needs, whilst privately pursuing neo-liberal banana republic policies which slowly steals even the meager basics of the masses, such as food and fuel.

WHY CULTURES DIE....BU J.D.UDWIN

Why Cultures Die
With the breakdown of sexual morality, the blood ties that unite a nation are dissolved as the people treat sexual reproduction as an aspect of simple pleasure and breed with immigrants and strangers - and thereby the nation and culture is destroyed.








Sexual Restraint and Social Energy in Diverse Cultures:

The Findings of J.D. Unwin


Scholar J.D. Unwin, Ph.D., in his seminal work Sex and Culture,* draws a connection between the flourishing of cultures and the sexual norms present at the time those cultures flourished. He studied over 80 different societies and repeatedly came to the same conclusion: When a society limited sexual freedom for an extended period of time, the society flourished; it expanded its territory, thrived intellectually, advanced technologically and progressed architecturally. When few or no regulations were placed on sexuality for an extended period of time, societies made little technological, intellectual and architectural advancement, ceased to expand and were at times even conquered. In short, sexually lax societies lacked what Unwin calls social energy.

The term social energy is important for understanding Unwin's work. He refers to two types: expansive social energy and productive social energy. The first includes "territorial expansion, conquest, colonization and the foundation of a widely flung commerce" (p. 315). This type of energy is directed not simply to what is going on within society - the energy is extended outside of the very country in which it originates. Productive social energy, on the other hand, 'develops the resources of its habitat and by increasing its knowledge of the material univers bends nature to its will" (p. 315). Productive social energy measures advancement within society. "Productive social energy was displayed . . . by the Moors when they invented algebra and the compass, and by the Western Europeans who discovered the use first of steam, then electricity, then of wireless communication" (p. 316). Societies that possessed social energy were said to "flourish." Hence, the flourishing of the Roman Empire is descriptive of its social energy.

It is important to understand that inquiry into the sciences, development of technology, accomplishments in art and the advancement of architecture are things which only men achieve. Animals do not boast of solving problems in calculus; they do not have computers; they do not paint masterpieces; they do not build temples. The reason for this is that men possess the ability to reason, whereas animals do not. Natural impulses, such as the desire to eat, sleep and have sex, are desires that both men and animals share. Men, however, also possess a rational intellect (the ability to reason) and a will (the ability to act according to reason). Animals, because they have no ability to reason, act always upon impulse. When they are hungry, they hunt. When they are thirsty, they drink. There is nothing internal that can dissuade them from acting upon impulse. Men, because they have reason, can make a decision to reject an impulse that arises in order to do something which they perceive as more important. The doctor will put off sleeping in order to study for his exam; a man will fast from eating in order to have his colon examined.



If men never did these things, that is, if they immediately acted upon every arising impulse or desire, there would be little to differentiate them from the animals. When men do not place any restraint on their impulses, they spend a great deal of their time indulging in pleasure for its own sake, and their societies tend to be built solely around the activities of eating, drinking, sleeping and having sex.



However, if society discourages the immediate satisfaction of these impulses through strict sexual norms, men will have energy and time to work on other goals which they would not have had if they had expended this energy on their own useless pleasure. Anyone who has played on a sports team recognizes that discipline of these natural desires is key to achieving great things. Men must refrain from taking breaks whenever they please and show up for practice even when their bodies simply want to sleep. To achieve things as a community, it is generally acknowledged that men must deny themselves some individual pleasures.



Unwin refers to Freud to explain this connection between sexual restraint and the flourishing of societies. Freud says that with natural impulses and desires comes energy to satisfy those desires. Freud says, however, that rather than always satisfying their impulses, men can “sublimate” those desires, which means they can direct their “sexual energy” in some other way than just sexually. In other words, they redirect the energy. Since the sexual urge, according to Freud, contains the most energy of all the impulses, sublimation of a sexual desire would allow for the use of greater energy in another sphere of life.



(Note: While we do not accept all of Freud’s psychological theories concerning man’s nature, his ideas concerning sublimation of sexual energy still contain merit.)



What do these men do, then, when they refrain from satisfying their sexual urges whenever and with whomever they please? History repeatedly shows that they use this energy to achieve more distinctly human goals. They further the sciences, produce artistically, accomplish architectural feats and conquer nations.



Presented for your consideration is the infamous society of the Romans. The Roman Empire is especially important in Unwin’s work, due to the fact that its history is generally known and accessible to the public. When the plebeians rose to power in the 3rd century B.C., they implemented strict sexual principles (p. 393). Following this political change, Unwin calls the energy of the Romans “tremendous.” They took hold of Italy and conquered the entire Mediterranean area. As a distinction has already been made regarding different types of social energy, the reader will recognize this as expansive social energy. Unwin further acknowledges that it is frequently posited that the Roman Empire was “at its strongest” in the second century A.D. (p. 398). “Then in their turn,” Unwin states, “the provincials reversed the habits of their fathers by extending their sexual opportunity” (p. 398-399). Following these changes he asserts that the energy of the empire declined, and that this is clear in 3rd century A.D accounts. Not long after, the Western Empire fell, and we are left to ponder its remains.



This pattern exhibited in the Roman empire is not unique. As regards the Sumerians, Babylonians, Athenians, Anglo-Saxons, and Protestant English, Unwin states:

These societies lived in different geographical environments; they belonged to different racial stocks; but the history of their marriage customs is the same. In the beginning each society had the same ideas in regard to sexual regulations. Then the same struggles took place; the same sentiments were expressed; the same changes were made; the same results ensued. Each society reduced its sexual opportunity to a minimum and displaying great social energy, flourished greatly. Then it extended its sexual opportunity; its energy decreased, and faded away. The one outstanding feature of the whole story is its unrelieved monotony.



The idea that the sexual act is purely private and has little to do with anyone other than the individuals involved is, quite frankly, false. Unwin’s work is sociological proof that the “free love” mentality is detrimental to society in every sphere. Aside from the private repercussions to individuals who sleep around at whim, sexual laxity produces social laziness, which eventually puts a society as a whole at risk.



Abstinence and marriage education, which seeks to re-instill a sexual norm of restraint, is not religious propaganda; even from a merely sociological view, this type of education has the society’s best interest in mind. Indeed, when societies uphold norms which elevate the sexual act to its proper place in marriage, they benefit in ways that reach far beyond the sexual fulfillment of its citizens.

BRAIN WASHING BY MEDIA

How ominous it is to see Indians transfixed by channels V and Mtv while at the same time the newspapers report about inflation levels and corruption and black money etc.

But how did we reach the stage where scenes from Idiocracy, a satirical movie set 500 years in the future where humanity has “degenerated into into a dystopia where advertising, commercialism, and cultural anti-intellectualism run rampant and dysgenic pressure has resulted in a uniformly stupid human society devoid of individual responsibility or consequences,” seem eerily contemporary in 2011?

Indians are watching more television than ever before, both through conventional TV sets and on the web, as the range of channels continues to expand, the screens get bigger and the quality of the picture increases as new hi-definition and 3D technologies arrest and shorten attention spans to a greater and greater degree.

Indians are now a nation of spectators, watching a shocking average of nearly 5 hours of TV a day, up 20% from just 10 years ago.

Hooked in to this matrix medium that tells them how to behave, what to care about, and how to treat people who deviate from this spoon-fed consensus, people are literally being programmed into accepting a contrived false reality that bears little or no resemblance to what is actually taking place in the real world. This is why the assembly line of zombies being manufactured by this process will roll their eyes when warned about real issues that affect them – the crumbling economy, unemployment, yet will become visibly upset when an event that has no bearing on their existence whatsoever, like where Tendulkar gets out or any other minor things that affects their sensibilties, takes place.

We are literally being trained like dogs to react to meaningless stimuli while burying our heads in the sand in reaction to issues of real significance. This behavior training encompasses an entire outlook, an entire lifestyle that people have adopted to the point where their moral compass, they way they dress, the way they speak, what they eat, what drugs they take, the way they respond to events and how they treat other people is solely a construct of the babylon system to which they are addicted.

The fact that this matrix system constantly promotes damaging and destructive messages is why people are fat, unhealthy, unhappy, addicted to drugs, and unsuccessful in maintaining relationships. They are a product of their brainwashing. Downloading viruses from an infected culture on a daily basis, people’s hard drives – their brains – are corrupted, lethargic, and barely able to function. This is why people seek out destructive pursuits that do nothing to benefit their long-term personal interests. This is why people no longer talk to their neighbors or get involved in their communities.

The controllers of this babylon system have superimposed a fantasy world over reality, they have slapped blinkers over the eyes of millions of Indians who continue to lead deluded, stunted and oblivious lives while the criminals behind the curtain scheme to wreck the country. A perfect example of this is how the government keeps insisting that the economy is getting better while in reality unemployment grows, tent cities pop up in major areas and the housing market gets worse.

When Indians know more about cricket than they do about their own history – to the point now ,that college professors can’t even relate basic facts about the founding of the country – Indian is in danger.

Indian used to be the source of the best and the brightest, but the ravages of a 21st century entertainment monster has contributed to plunging test scores allied to weaker curriculums as Indians school children continue to be outperformed by their counterparts like China.

Freedom and prosperity can only continue to exist in a country where informed and active citizens act as watchmen and women to protect those virtues. History has taught us that decadence, moral and intellectual decay are always followed by a collapse in society as darkness fills in the void that good has vacated.

Indians have to look themselves in the mirror and decide whether or not worshipping TV actors is worth the price of a destitute and demoralized country in which living standards are degenrated and freedoms are easily revoked.


Our job is to issue a jolt of shock therapy to millions of hypnotized Indians who have the establishment-imposed mantra running through their heads that everything will be OK as long as they just continue to ignore reality and keep their head buried in Indian Idol or the IPL season.

Only through a massive media backlash can we reach people and make them understand that they have been conditioned into accepting a false sense of reality and that real happiness and fulfillment can only be achieved, and that Indians can only be rescued, once they fully embrace the truth of what is really happening around them.

Madhusree Mukerjee...A MUST READ

Luckily I got a hand on this book..a very comprehensive detail on the Bengal famine..Here r just some facts...like just a overview layout of the book.

British prime minister Winston Churchill deliberately let millions of Indians starve to death, the author of a new book has claimed, alleging he was motivated in part by racial hatred.
As many as three million people died in the Bengal famine of 1943 after Japan captured neighboring Burma — a major source of rice imports — and British colonial rulers in India stockpiled food for soldiers and war workers.

Panic-buying of rice sent prices soaring, and distribution channels were wrecked when officials confiscated or destroyed most boats and bullock carts in Bengal to stop them falling into enemy hands if Japan invaded.

Rice suddenly became scarce in markets and, as worsening hunger spread through villages, Churchill repeatedly refused pleas for emergency food shipments.

Emaciated masses drifted into Kolkata, where eye-witnesses described men fighting over foul scraps and skeletal mothers dying in the streets as British and middle-class Indians ate large meals in their clubs or at home.

The “man-made” famine has long been one of the darkest chapters of the British Raj, but now Madhusree Mukerjee says she has uncovered evidence that Churchill was directly responsible for the appalling suffering.

Her book, Churchill’s Secret War, quotes previously unused papers that disprove his claim that no ships could be spared from the war and that show him brushing aside increasingly desperate requests from British officials in India.

Analysis of World War II cabinet meetings, forgotten ministry records and personal archives show that full grain ships from Australia were passing India on their way to the Mediterranean region, where huge stockpiles were building up.

“It wasn’t a question of Churchill being inept: sending relief to Bengal was raised repeatedly and he and his close associates thwarted every effort,” Mukerjee said in a telephone interview.

“The United States and Australia offered to send help but couldn’t because the war cabinet was not willing to release ships. And when the US offered to send grain on its own ships, that offer was not followed up by the British.”

“He said awful things about Indians. He told his secretary he wished they could be bombed,” Mukerjee said. “He was furious with Indians because he could see America would not let British rule in India continue.”

Churchill derided Indian independence leader Mahatma Gandhi as a lawyer posing as a “half-naked” holy man, and replied to British officials in India who pleaded for food supplies by asking why Gandhi had not yet died.

“I hate Indians. They are a beastly people with a beastly religion,” he told Leo Amery, the secretary of state for India. Another time he accused Indians of effectively causing the famine by “breeding like rabbits.”

(This was an opinion held by many within the British state structure, not just Churchill. In order to subjugate and exploit people, demonization must take place, other wise the subjugation and exploitation cannot take place in the 19th century colonial context.)

Amery once lost his temper after one rant by the prime minister, telling Churchill that he could not “see much difference between his outlook and Hitler’s.”

Amery wrote in his diary: “I am by no means sure whether on this subject of India he is really quite sane.”

“Winston’s racist hatred was due to his loving the empire in the way a jealous husband loves his trophy wife: he would rather destroy it than let it go,” said Mukerjee.

Mukerjee’s book has been hailed as a ground-breaking achievement which unearths new information despite the hundreds of volumes already written on Churchill’s life.

Churchill committed great crimes in India, but he was by no means the only one. Many great crimes were committed by the British in India.

However the other great crime of Churchill, again neglected by astute Indian historians is the re-launch of the Muslim League in the critical year of 1940, with Jinnah at its helm. It was under Churchill that the Muslim League briefly became a fully proactive mass party under British guidance, and Jinnah who I believe was recruited by them as their agent who led this "British proxy party" to undermine the assertive Congress in the final years towards Independence. The British were fully aware of their agent Jinnah's real condition, and that is why they brought forward the date of Independence so early, when all else expected it to be a year or two later. By 1948 the British created the ISI which they controlled and guided with a British officer heading the Pakistan military into 1951, and the Muslim League was effectively folded in 1951. The Muslim League was a party on paper so long as it had the blessings of the British.

“The famine, you could argue, was partly a deliberate act. India was forced to export grain in the early years of war and in 1943 was exporting rice at Churchill’s personal insistence. Britain ruthlessly exploited India during war and didn’t let up even when famine started.”

The Bengal Famine of 1943, was not the first famine artificially created by the British Raj. An estimated 30 million Indians were victims of genocide under the British rule of India from 1757, when the conquest began in earnest until its end in 1947. Clearly Bengal was not the only victim of British misrule, but that other states such as Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and many others suffered in pockets or in large swathes.

The worst famine has to be the 1769 famine of Bengal when 10 million people perished, in a state of 34 million because the East India company gave preference to growing cash crops such as Indigo, Jute and Opium for exports. That event is well documented even though it is further down in history, because the primary perpetrator Warren Hastings was brought to court in a private action in London. The injustice was recognized, if not punished.

And such things went on for the next 200 years.

Though the British colonial perspective was that local Indian rulers were corrupt and incompetent; Indians were work shy; over producing and a lessor people who ought to be treated like little children in the better days. British civilization had to be introduced, and local culture discouraged where possible. The British were in India to build railways and roads, and all modern benefits of Western civilization. A force for good, and clean justice.....with good Victorian Evangelical morality.....and so the official narrative went.

Amul Baby

So PM Manmohan Singh will retire from the position of PM sooner, or later if election results are not favorable to the Congress Party. In all events it will not be good for the Congress Party to have him in his present position for too long as it projects a weak leadership which in the present climate of India (a rejuvenated India moving forward, confidently) might not be the right leader to have, both representing the Congress Party and India.

Of course on the other hand the Congress Party will want to project continuity, and therefore there may be no questions of replacing him at this juncture before election results are out. It may appear too cynical and opportunistic to remove him now...the better to sell his term , without him actually having to do the grueling politicking associated with Indian elections.

He has done a great service to India, especially the much needed economic reforms of the early 1990's which laid the foundation for India's economic miracle in the 1990's to the present. Such needed reforms and economic progress have made India economically successful, and in addition has brought India a certain degree of prestige in the eyes of the world........So he is the prime "Indian" of the nation for the last two decades. But now the time has come to pass the baton on to another...and who will that be, or should it be?

One could argue it doesn't matter who the next PM is (or opposition party leader) as the real power in the party is the lady from Italy, Sonia Gandhi. However, even so with such a back seat driver, driving the state ship, I think we cannot discount the importance of the PM position, or as leader of the opposition if Congress were to lose the next election. I am quite certain that Sonia Gandhi wasn't controlling and running ALL policies for the country, and for Congress, though the pictures with her and PM Manmohan in toe were quite ominous and telling.

It had a Cheney/Bush junior quality, though of course Bush junior and Manmohan Singh are worlds apart. Bush junior was the black sheep of the family, given the presidential position through the powerful connections of his father, despite being totally unqualified. Bush junior himself was a failed individual failing in everything in his personal life, checking into rehab for alcoholism, forever trying to live up to the achievements and expectations of the towering figure of his father. Never mind, though it makes for good melodrama in the colorful world of slippery greasy politics, and the demise of a great nation achieved single handedly by his two terms.

PM Manmohan Singh is obviously not Bush junior; he is an accomplished man, with vast degrees of competency and the tract record to prove it. One would like to think that he was not a mere token subservient front for the Italian lady, but will his successor be a token front for Sonia Gandhi....and where does it all go? For how long? For how long do we have Nur Jahan running the show of India using pliable weak fronts? Is she really qualified to run India? Is this arrangement constitutionally and administratively correct?

And so the question of Rahul Gandhi arises, too young to be PM, but hovering ever closer to that objective. Is this good for India? Is this good for the Congress Party? And here are my generalized objections to him becoming PM, or leader of the Congress Party knowing full well that the person who really matters with the requisite power in the party is Sonia Gandhi:

1) Rahul spent far too many years abroad for a Indian leader in the modern sense (1990---2002). An Indian leader should be educated ONLY in India for a variety of reasons, mainly to do with security and psychology. A person of that background can be a target of foreign intelligence, eager to influence an important country like India, a rising global player. I would be a total idiot if in his time in the USA and UK, the intelligence services of these globally proactive powers did not try to "recruit" him either directly or through Third Parties....girlfriends, business friends, boyfriends, other social friends......spy's don't have spy written on their lapels.  I would judge him to be a security risk for India, because of the possibility that he will/may have been recruited directly and indirectly by intelligence from the USA or UK or both.

This is a serious problem as the USA gears up against operations against Pakistan, with the possibility that American troops may occupy Pakistan, and thus America will become a "neighbor" of India security wise.......That India should not have such persons at the helm, with his mother behind him when a reincarnation of the East India company situation takes place in our time. Then if the Americans occupy Pakistan, what India will require is a leader who is a sufficiently skeptical national leader of American geostrategic designs and intentions in the region, overt and covert. Otherwise what you will have in such a future scenario is Rahul merely justifying American actions in the region.

2) Rahul's character. Has he got what it takes to be the leader of the Congress Party, and country? Does it matter if his mother is actually running the show? Yes I think it does if she is not directing all the decisions of the party. So one looks at his record, his stature, his speeches and his general demeanor ........as I understand according to many sources he failed at Harvard University, and then ran to sunny Florida to get a late degree certificate. The same with Cambridge University, and his job in London...........so shades of George Bush junior here. On this basis of no staying power, and of a weak non-committed character infused with seeking pleasure at times of national crisis (partying whilst Mumbai burned November 2008) does not bode well for him to become the leader of the party.

3) In my humble opinion dynasty politics is inappropriate for a modern party like the Congress Party, representing a great nation like India, an emerging global power. Dynasty politics is OK for North Korea, for Egypt, for Haiti, for Libya, for Pakistan and Bangladesh, BUT not for India......it is crude, filthy and smacks of nepotism and corruption. Even if Rahul is a reincarnation of Emperor Ashok, he still should be disqualified, and not crowned emperor of India. Every indications are that Rahul is not Ashok. There are many rising talented party members within the Congress Party who should be groomed and sought to replace the old tired leaders of the Congress Party in India.

India beyond the SINGLE issue of economic success faces many problems which require head on comprehensive holistic energetic tackling by future governments, otherwise the benefits of economic success will become meaningless in themselves and will be negated.......I am talking about controlling the population growth, giving India the largest population in the world a few decades later; with existing severe food insecurity covering large parts of the population; poorly managed agricultural sector; unequal economic benefits, with the % living in poverty increasing creating knock on socio-economic and security problems; infrastructure problems; lack of electricity and power distribution; corruption; naxal and other forms of political violence; poor education; extremely low levels of exports relative to the world............and so on. That outside of the old farts, and inside circle of expected leaders, a new generation of Congress Party members can be given a chance to serve India.

4) Related to point 1, but slightly more technical. No Manchurian candidates should be allowed to become the PM of India.

These are my objections to why Rahul should not become the next leader of the Congress Party.

Corruption not the crux of the problem

The Anna Hazare saga reached its climax on Saturday 9th when the government of India, in Delhi seemed to have caved into the demands of the lone Crusader against corruption. Maybe they will make a  movie about this event, ; Poor lad, educates himself, joins army, finds Nirvana at war in 1965, and public service finally......overcoming the sheer bloated corrupted government of the Congress Party, through his lone efforts.

That's the Fairy Tale, but what really happened?

Congress in its rudderless, geriatric leadership under ManMohan Singh, into its second term is on the defensive...OBVIOUSLY. (it would be no surprise if some minor ammendments are brought in between...slipped in slowly to protect their further interest)

The Ardash scam, the 2G scam, the sudden discovery that there are between $500--1,500 billion looted from impoverished India by the corrupted elite lying idle in Swiss Bank accounts alone .....has correctly generated public anger. (70 tax havens around the world, excluding the UK and USA....otherwise 2 favorite destinations of South Asia's assets by the corrupted governing post-colonial elite from Bangladesh to Pakistan)

PM Singh is a weak front for Sonia, the real back seat driver who herself is wholly uneducated, not holding a single under grad degree, but is the unofficial leader of the country simply because she is the wife of former PM Rajiv Gandhi, and through marriage she belongs to that famous dynasty. Clearly Congress is insecure...as it should be.

India has 69 Billionaires.

The Congress Party has been in charge of the show for most of the 63.5 years of "Independence" run by the Macauley Brown sahibs, so obviously they must take the greatest direct flak for the nations many woes. However what is sad is that in a Great Nation such as India, the government of such a great nation has to bow to the wishes of one man, and the blackmail action of a lone hunger striker.

That is not the way to run Great nations, and governments.

There are many levels of financial corruption:

(i) Corruption between individual citizens.

(ii) Petty corruption between government officials and civilians.

(iii) Big corruption cases involving powerful public figures in government and the private sector.

With the first and second, in developed countries, there is quite a lot of transparency which allows Jcommon public to seek redress if corruption is involved, usually through civil or criminal action. The neutral (a) state institutions, (b) effective governance, and (c) the rule of law is quite sufficient to prevent high levels of corruption in the first two cases.
However in the instance of the third kind of financial corruption, the level of corruption is as great if not greater in Developed Countries as it is in any Third World country. But because the system of the nation state works, and the scamsters are more sophisticated, infiltrating governments and controlling them (USA/UK)......big corruption cases in First World countries, save a few (Enron) don't really surface as they do in India.


Barak Obama, elected by Wall Street money has given corrupt, mismanaged Wall Street Banks trillions of $ to "Bail them out" of their own corrupt, deceptive, criminal practices.

The USA installs puppets in Third World Nations; pressurizes them to put ALL their nations money in American banks, and then topples them (Shah of Iran, where the USA is holding between $40-50 billion of the Shah's Iran assets, with interest)

Despite the above, the USA is still a successful country, with tremendous prosperity, and an economy of $15 trillion. The UK is still a successful country, with tremendous prosperity, and an economy of $2 trillion. What makes these two countries First World, and prosperous is the total absence of the first two kinds of corruption. Which also allows Indian expats to succeed into millionaires through sheer hard work, and business acumen in the USA and UK. The OVERALL system of the state works.

I do not condone the third category of big corruption, I abhor it. Germany and Japan are doing quite well, with huge economies, without the clear indication of running the third type of big league corruption cases, through the government and big business.

However major league corruption is not the crux of the problem for a Developing nation.

The main challenges are:

Governance

Transparent, effective state institutions.

Good strategic policies which are useful for the state in all spheres.

China is successful not because the Communist Party is completely incorruptible, and there are no cases of major corruption in the country....quite the contrary. However the Communist Party in China is strong, is meritocratic and not based on dynasty politics....governance is effective...with effective top down state institutions...and finally good strategic policies for the state, which bears obvious fruit.

India by contrast is a mafia state, where the government is weak, epitomized by PM Singh, and the organized criminal elements strong (oil mafia, movie mafia, wheat mafia),-(the example which I personaly observed , where the .prolypolene which supposed to be landed at mumbai port was routed to kandla so that truck mafia could have their fill of transportation cost) was  Government operates on a minimalist basis, despite all the hue and cry, with the budget accounting for about barely 20% of the official GDP.....and far less of the real GDP ($4 trillion).

Indian Government institutions are corrupt, colonial era and ineffective---they don't do their jobs that well, thus obviously governance is very weak. Finally most government policies are inappropriate for the strategic development of the country, but instead is a mixer of bandage wrapping and hole plugging adhoc policies depending on the publicity that is generated by the "popular" Westernized media (TOI, Hindustan Times, Anglicized TV channels).....Indian governments are shallow, and inactive.

However trying to hold hunger strikes against such deep institutional problems is not going to be easy, trying to galvanize the public at the same time.

How do you hunger strike against a corrupt MOD, which thirsts for foreign arms purchases, which affords huge kickbacks for the netas and babus involved, but compromises India's strategic defense policies?

How do you you hunger strike against a corrupt worthless MEA, which does not know how to pursue India's external interests even in its back yard?

How do you detect ALL the spies working within the state structure for foreign governments for money? (Mitrokin papers reveal to us that most of Indira's cabinet worked for the KGB, whilst a few worked for the CIA).....who works for India and its poor people?

Hunger strikes against corruption is noble, and gauges audiences in India. The poor man with no money has some satisfaction against the man with too much money. But the focus and meditation in Civil society action must ultimately focus on how to improve GOVERNANCE, EFFECTIVE STATE INSTITUTIONS, GOOD STRATEGIC POLICIES OF THE STATE, and finally GOOD LEADERSHIP WORKING WITHIN EFFECTIVE PARTIES.

Which side is the lesser evil?

 I wanted Congress to win but not with that kind of a margin of victory. It makes them complacent and lazy, as if they weren't all ready.

Its the right party for India, because its amorphous, appealing to all sentiments to a greater or lessor degree, accommodating, corrupt, a do nothing party, fat and bloaty, promises more than it delivers, no clear mission or objectives, but a mishmash of sloganeering and statements .......... otherwise a typical status quo Indian misgoverning party that delivers a certain degree of reassurance and therefore appropriate for the diverse Indian society.

I personally thought the April-May 2009 elections were rigged, in favor of the Congress Party, but that's another story. There are numerous fringe sources of how elections are bought in India if you want to follow up on that. But first you must over come the bias that India is not a pure democracy. Indeed the idea that most nations are pure democracies.

So on to the BJP.

A healthy democracy requires a strong opposition. Knit picking and attacking the ruling party. Congress can't, won't win the next election in 2014, but the BJP can if it gears itself up and gets it act together within the next five years. The BJP is less corrupt compared to the Congress Party (or so I like to think), and I tend to think it is administratively more effective, when in power. Unlike Congress it tends to be more focused, and follows through on its programs. It is a party which is not ashamed of being Indian, and most of its leadership aren't foreign educated products with alien ideas implanted into the Indian political system (Manmohan Singh, Sonia Gandhi..........) Finally its leaders are democratically elected by the party; its not a kleptocracy dynasty structured party where the heirs are anointed due to their family lineage. (Congress Party)

Lord Macaulay had stated "We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and millions whom we govern-a class of persons Indian in blood and color, but English in tastes, in opinions, in morals and in intellect."--------Through the Congress Party, and its Dynastic politics neo-colonialism rules. India in order to become a proper self respecting power needs to detach from that, obviously.

So thats the pleasing part about the BJP.

The bad part, well rather obvious and I guess the reason why the under rated common Indian voters chose not to vote for them. You can't eat national flags, or patriotic sloganeering...............indeed such things are rather irrelevant to a dirt poor farmer in say Madhya Pradesh, burdened by debt, or a city slum dweller without real wage earning work. The Indian Middle class, and lower middle class I suppose will "buy" the flag waving and sloganeering for a while; their basic needs have been met....but even here, the core of BJP voters...the same slogans and same message heaved out of the BJP shed may not appeal to the same extent as they did before.

Not that I am saying Indian elections are about issues, with the common voter reading every word of the party manifesto's....but the general blurry gist has to meld with the overall national sentiment, otherwise...NO.

Varun, adolescent Varun, "we Hindus aren't soft touches" Varun, I'm really looking for a fight Varun, Varun hero of the BJP, the new generation vanguard, Ram temple, Ram temple, and some more Ram Temple, Varun, and Varun, and some more Varun, Bring back black money from Switzerland, Varun, Ram Temple, Hai Ram, ...............all packaged under a 81 year old geriatric leader was never going any where, with a bit of election fixing.

Quite simply for the BJP's sake, for the country's sake, the party has to change before it disappears into oblivion and irrelevancy in the Indian political scene, back to its 2 member seats of the 1980's a mere two decades ago..........................what a shame that would be. To be sure I was never happy about the BJP's communalism, how could I be? The problems of India aren't encapsulated by 160 million Muslims, or Pakistan, or anybody else. The fundamental problems of India, which require addressing sooner or later derive from the flaws of Indian society generally.

It is sheer intellectual laziness to suggest that somehow all the myriad of complex national problems within India are enshrined in a narrow platform of "the Muslims".

The problems/challenges of India are problems/challenges many Third World societies face, and the more successful, intelligent, thoughtful, organized Third World societies are diligently working with their people to solve such national problems----NOT bashing a bottom of the basket minority, and creating the false illusion that that will somehow ultimately solve ALL the countries problems eventually.

No true Indian leader should suggest or hint in that direction, by words, gestures or deeds. Otherwise you are doing a disservice to the nation by playing the misleading pied piper taking the gullible down the wrong alley, into the wrong solutions.

The challenges:

1. Terrorism......NE, Maoist and Pakistan backed.
2. Religious Intolerance/BJP.
3. Water Shortage/non monsoon season especially
4. Unequal economic development....poor economic planning. 840 million with minimal income surviving on 20 rupees a day. 55 billionaires.
5. Corruption.
6. Capital flight-----$1.5 trillion to $3 trillion.
7. Devalued Currency.
8. Unemployment.....hiring system. Colonial era/Socialist era employment laws.
9. Low Education.investment......poor quality education....poor quality teachers....poor quality students.........loss of the best to foreign countries. Lack of investment into research...R&D.
10.Weak Foreign Policy.........inconsistent foreign policy....the failure of SAARC, and relations with neighbors especially Pakistan. Aspires to be the regional power, is the regional power but no clear leadership.
11. Poorly performing agricultural sector./farmer debts/low investment and innovation.

12..............Failed state characteristics/wikipedia/duplicate.
13. Foreign interference...USA/UK.........behind the scenes through the post-colonial elite.
14. Rapid population growth-----------largest population soon--2030?...........Unfortunately some of the big players and policy makers in India, and so called touted experts keep repeating that a continued population growth along the present trajectory is somehow good for India's future providing a youthful future generation who will increase productivity and demand for the future..........misses the fundamental point that any nation with X amount of resources, and Y level of effective governance can only deliver Z amount of goods and services which satisfy the overall population. My contention is, and I say this most emphatically that given the experience of the last 60 years it is highly unlikely that the "Indian state" will be able to satisfy even the basic needs of most of its people..............................there WILL still be a lot of poor people in India by 2025, never mind any additional new population (500 million more ????), and therefore logically India should very seriously with the zeal of Indira Gandhi think about containing the population growth meaningfully, comprehensively and quickly...............otherwise the overpopulation of India will create failed state characteristics such as those in Bangladesh (no real threat to anyone except as a liability to itself...........300 million by 2050)........and Pakistan about 400 million by 2050, a failed state slowly sliding into anarchy and war, especially in its Western parts.
16. Poor governance.....political parties/bureaucracy/poor leadership.
17. Poor environmental policies/ enforcement and awareness by public--state and national.
18. Post colonial elite...which has no fealty to India.......exemplified by capital flight.
19. Poor infrastructure.
20. Small industrial base.............28% of GDP...low investment in this sector.
21. Weak financial system.
22. Indian bureaucracy...............red tape.
23. Backward society and the inherent problems of any backward society, culturally and psychologically........religious obscurantism and fatalism...........Problems of society explained away as Karmic etc.
24. Indian colonial era police......corruption and criminality.
25. Cultural stagnation....crass, trash Western copy Bollywood/Hindi movies etc.
26. Social harmony and value......soaring crime rates etc....standard social norms.
27. Inconsistent defense policy---low defense expenditure; dreams of a great power mixed up with the true needs of India's defense.
28. Legal system, legal codes, and justice system over burdened, irrelevant and unIndian....does not meet the needs of the ordinary Indian.
29. Poor sanitary and health standards generally.
30. Poor nutrition producing a vast pool of low quality under performing generations....for the future....

The national failures above are the failings of the Congress Party which has more or less ruled India for the last 62 years approaching, nobody else.

Obviously the BJP can't go into the next elections with geriatric Advani at 86, OBVIOUSLY NOT. The party needs to move on, and present a fresh face and some more new messages. Preferably new messages which are more in line with the national sentiment, and the overall complex Indian society. North all the way to Chennai, from the West all the way East to Arunchal Pradesh.

Arun Jaitley seems intelligent, cosmopolitan and most importantly the right age (56). He should be chosen as the next head of the BJP into the next elections, and Advani should be moved out and retired writing his memoirs and biography.

Some secretly want Modi to be the next head of the BJP but the problem with Modi is that he is fundamentally a divisive character who will further divide India. Yes, Yes, Yes Mussolini and Hitler created jobs, made pretty young men in uniform march down the street, instilled a sense of national pride and discipline, falsely, .................and made sure the trains ran on time.....and all that, but in the process they also further destroyed MORE than they ever created, which had a lasting good effect. Modi is a good state minister, if you like conceded in a gangsterism way, but only a good state minister.......not a national leader.

The BJP should sort itself out quickly.

PROPERTY BUBBLE

Some observations & questions for the Learned Pundits here (Mumbai/Thane/Navi Mumbai only)
1.There is a huge supply coming up that will hit the market in a few months time. Just go around Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai. Compare with your memories of these places even 5 years back. Do you remember so many constructions of so huge buildings? I don't.
2. Some builders have started delaying tactics. Many smaller buildings are half constructed with hardly any activity. All kinds of silly reasons are given such as lack of sand, lack of labour,etc. Possessions that were being promised last Diwali are still not complete and handed over. However new bookings are being accepted with alacrity.
3. Some projects are showing progress but VERY SLOW-dunno if this has something to do with reduced bank lending?
4. A lot of loans are due for Rollover in April/May. What if the banks/RBI/HDFC do not allow and ask for payments? Will they sell some flats at lower cost to generate cash?
5.Suddenly over the last few months we are seeing a plethora of Full Page Ads in newspapers about various projects. Signs of desperation to garner cash?
6. A lot of spam emails from brokers and builders about "last chance" and "golden opportunities" to "invest", but mostly from Noida projects, not Mumbai.
7. Reports of brokers being incentivized to sell, sell, sell with double brokerage, Mercedes cars and what not? If there is so much demand why these tactics?
8. A lot of 2G scam money was diverted into RE apparently. This allowed many parties to sustain building and holding without any sales/limited sales. Now with the 2G s*** hitting the fan where will the new money come from? Future bookings?
9. RBI is now raising rates again. What happens to those poor souls who have EMIs of Rs. 50-60K to pay per month? Will they increase?
Will the much publicized increased increments make up the deficit?
10. The Mall Mania is in full force in Thane. The "old malls" have hardly anybody visiting. The latest malls get all the footfalls until...the newer Mall arrives. At that point of time the current "in mall" becomes outcast.
So many closed shops in the malls. What the builder does with them nobody knows/cares.
I think this is just the lull before the storm. June will be the start of the fun. Lets see what happens. As of now this seems to me a gigantic Ponzi scheme, suckering poor dual income slaves into buying bigger houses with bigger EMIs, a scheme for stashing ill gained money and a lot of hype. I do not think this will end happily for many of the participants.

CHINA MOVING ITS TROOPS ALOG LOC

 India requires good governance, not petty party politics :
You look at the elite of the country, where they go for their holiday, and where they send their children to 'finish' their education, and you KNOW which country controls that country and it's POLICIES (Plural- as in domestic and foreign, and not just one issue.) The elite schools of India are still modelled on the colonial era, designed to produce brown sahibs in Dehra Dun and other places. They need to be got rid of. Too many of the elite's children are sent to schools in the West, and I wonder how many of the lefts children are sent to the West to 'finish' their education. Countries like China and Russia don't send it's future leaders and elites to finish their education abroad.
Foreign aid compromises the sovereignty of all nations of course. Foreign aid dependency for a prolonged period, harms a country, and that is why first world countries are so eager to provide aid, which is after all is an instrument of state policies of rich countries viz poor countries only since 1950. The foreign aid that is provided rarely benefits a Third World country substantively but are an useful instrument to 'buy' state policies in Third World countries. Are the Communists going on hunger strike over this issue?
Corruption destroys the sovereignty of a Third World country of course. India is number 83 out of 175 countries, surveyed by Transparency International 2007, a poor record. Money can buy politicians. KGB records show that large number of Indian politicians werte in their pay in the 1970's and 1980's, including members of the cabinet. They were acting as foreign agents------treason, but none that I know of were ever prosecuted. http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2005/10/20/stories/2005102000031000.htm Indian politicians are relatively criminalised, hence the poor governance level in the country, and the joke is that people join politics in India to escape the law. Lalooji being the most 'celebrated' example. Does RAW and the CBI have a list of suspected Indian politicians who are working for say, CHINA? Would they like to talk about them?
Another simple way a countries sovereignty can be compromised is if an 'active' First World power trains a Third World's key bureaucratic and security personnel. A simple example is Pakistan, and it is a failed state. It's leaders keep deferring to outsiders, and they keep getting into bigger messes. 60 years of the same, and they still haven't learnt. The idea to power share between  and Musharaf came from Washington, and that proved to be detrimental to both of them, especially Bhutto, but if you are a puppet beholden to them, you follow their orders even if you know that it is wrong.
NGO's pose a threat to the sovereignty of a country, as they do the work that local governments are suppose to provide. They co-opt vital leadership and direction in sensitive areas. In India where the level of governance is poor, , this represents a pervasive threat to the security of the state. An NGO lobbies the locals that they do do not need that much needed factory which brings in income and jobs to the vicinity. In addition it is well documented that a good deal of NGO's are intelligence fronts of foreign powers. for example in Russia a large number of NGO's were deemed to be interfering with local politics, and were thus expelled.
Moscow names British 'spies' in NGO row Russia Guardian Unlimited <http://newsfromrussia.com/world/2006/01/25/71762.html >
The IMF, WB, ADB, international financial markets can pose a threat to the sovereignty of India.  We live in a complex nuanced world, and every nation has it's own personality and characteristics. This is not an argument against much needed reform to remove the shackles and heritage of British colonialism or Congress Socialism, but in our eagerness to escape these two past evils, we should not embrace the wrong policies proscribed by people who have very little inside knowledge of the dynamics of India. Never the less did not the IMF 'impose' some Structural Adjustment Programs to 'bailout' India in the early 1990's?
http://www.ziopedia.org/en/articles/money%10taxes/%27capitalism_and_freedom%27_unmasked/HYPERLINK "http://www.ziopedia.org/en/articles/new_world_order/_reviewing_naomi_klein%27s_%27the_shock_doctrine%27/"http://www.ziopedia.org/en/articles/new_world_order/_reviewing_naomi_klein%27s_%27the_shock_doctrine%27/
He who supplies the arms of a Third World country, has a greater influence on the security and foreign policy of that Third World country. This is logical and the norm. Not only are you supplying the arms, but also the spares which can on most occasions be more expensive then the actual initial deal creating long term dependency, and finally you train the locals how to use it. In the past it was the Soviet Union, followed by the UK, and naturally Indian foreign policy was greatly influenced by this fact----UN vote, the political language of the Congress party at that time etc. The left didn't complain then. Since the nineties after the collapse of the Soviet Union, and with the disappearance of preferential treatment, India now has to pay hard cash for all purchases from Russia, as that 'special relationship' has declined. So India to be really sovereign in security and foreign policy, has to comprehensively develop her own arms industry, and I am surprised that the soon to be third largest economy on earth still can't still manufacture a decent 155mm mountain artillery mass produced for the needs of the army, but talks about space programs, and has to fish around over 10 years looking for foreign sources----------Israel, South Africa and Sweden; just doesn't make sense-----OK, I'm going to avoid the conspiracy/corrupt bureaucrats button. Can't manufacture a proper jet fighter, with only 550 combat jets being operational in service for war. Finally can't manufacture a decent tank after 30 years of trying-----this is a sham and a waste of vital resources, in a nation brimming with technological brilliance and innovation, especially in engineering. A foreign arms supplier can cut off arms supplies and spares at their whim, or do so under pressure from others. Pakistan 1965, nothing was moving in the ground forces after two weeks of fighting, and they have learnt since. Far more serious than the nuclear issue, as that is fully independent operationally now. The conventional arms industry needs to become fully independent, manufacturing sound reliable local equipment, without resorting to round about silly initiatives, which can't help the industry anyway.India has always been technologically innovative. When the university of Nalanda was destroyed in 1297, India was the most advanced nation in many science related disciplines, and students from China, Japan, Korea, Persia, and Arabia use to arrive there and study. Back in 1500 BC India was using the Sathagni, which was a ballistic weapon, loosely translated as 'killer of 100' in large battle fields. It was subsequently banned and never used again based on 'moral' objections from religious groups. India invented the gunpowder, and it's knowledge spread to China via Buddhist monks (as well as the martial arts), and into Europe via Gypsies from 1350 AD. India invented it's own rocket in 1780, the Taagra. Indian canon were some of the finest and best in the world, with unmatched craftsmanship, until the nineteenth century; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaivana_cannon. India was producing fine quality steel weapons well before 2000 years. But now India can't produce simple conventional battlefield weapons. Field artillery, jet fighters, helicopters or tanks. India spends many decades and billions of dollars of research on such systems, but still can't produce simple battlefield conventional weapons. India has plans to send missions to the Moon and Mars but can't yet create effective conventional battlefield weapons like artillery, combat planes and tanks-------one would think that getting the simple things right would be a first priority before reaching for the stars. It's the third largest projected economy on earth, but yet can't produce it's own basic conventional weapons. It exports 35,000 of the best and brightest from the IIT institutes to the USA to help that country, but still can't produce a simple artillery for it's own vital defence. It has close relations with Russia for many years, and yet other non-traditional allies of Russia take advantage of the enormous expertise of Russian scientists to develop their conventional defence industry, such as Iran. Pakistan has partly developed it's own very effective tank which will be massed produced soon, with Ukrainian help. But India unable to produce effective conventional weapons by itself mysteriously isn't going for joint ventures either with Russia thus far, but has belatedly cooperated with Russia, with the Indo-Russian stealth fighter which will be available within a decade. 60 years of good relationship between the Russians and India, and they finally go for a major joint arms production project after so many decades.

What's the problem? Political leaders with wrong priorities? Corrupt bureaucrats who misuse state resources-----a project finishes, and so the funding ends also? Buying expensive weapon systems from other countries gives other countries an effective veto over the military of India-------loss of sovereignty anyone? Now we have the bright idea of using Chinese Singapore, 'the epicentre of scientific excellence in defence related areas' to help India develop and modernise it's arms industry. Perfect. It seems more like inviting China into India through the back door. You give them a base, and they develop your arms industry-----very logical.
Sorry to sound anti-CHINESE, but you know the security situation in and around India better then I, but with Chinese agents crawling all over Singapore, how does leasing a base to Singapore substantially improve India's security and sovereignty. If it's about technology sharing and improving the performance of the cumbersome Byzantine defence production department then there are more obvious ways of doing it than leasing a base in your country. The quality and quantity of India's defence production has no direct correlation with leasing of a base to Singapore. If it's about getting a closer look at the ageing F-16 which Pakistan operates, then why not just buy a handful from the USA instead? Sounds like more dodgy bureaucrat/politicians wheeling dealing. Does China and Russia have foreign bases in their countries? Singapore isn't a mainstream country either is it? Which is very close to India ( Russia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, are in many respects much closer ). Singapore is very close to China, (it's an ethnic Chinese statelet/dictatorship, ) Israel and of course the UK. Why would Singapore need a base in India? " In fact, Singapore has been tooting its own horn lately about ever-closer ties to Beijing. Their ambassador to China -- Chin Siat Yoon -- openly bragged that last year Singapore (with a population of only four million or so) was China's largest trading partner among ASEAN countries, was China's seventh largest trading partner and eighth largest foreign investor, has allowed 74 Chinese companies to be listed on the Singapore Stock Exchange, and allowed some 880,000 Chinese tourists to visit the island-state in 2004. Why, that's almost a million possible Chinese spies that Singaporean authorities willingly permit into their country! Haven't they bothered to read America's famous Cox Commission Report, which a half dozen years ago revealed how Chinese spy agencies secretly employ tourists and students and "cultural exchange officials" and whatever they can get their hands on as spies to suck our national-security innards dry? " It may be sarcastic but it has truth. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21723520-2703,00.htmlChina currently occupies Indian sovereign territory for 40 years, after starting a short undeclared war. China arms failed state Pakistan with nuclear weapons and technology. China backs Naxals and other leftist groups. China builds strategic ports in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Burma and other neighbouring countries which will be used to dock Chinese warships------a clear policy of encirclement. The Chinese openly claim Arunchal Pradesh. The Chinese make illegal incursions into Sikkim, India's vassal state. China opposes India's membership of the permanent Security Council seat. China opposes the USA-India Nuclear deal. China captures and humiliates Indian border guards, during a state visit by the Indian political leadership to China. I am not sure what other provocation you require from the Chinese? In the light of China's behaviour in the neighbourhood it is grossly incorrect to give a base to Singapore on Indian soil. I am against an India which has a global reach foreign policy, and interferes with the internal affairs of other nations. Nothing in India's 5,000 years of civilization suggest she ever went beyond her natural boundaries ( Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh being part of this Indian sphere, but not Sri Lanka or Burma ). I am against India acquiring aircraft carriers, which satisfies false ego's of 'Great Power' without adding meaningfully to the basic over all defence of India proper. I am even against India sending UN soldiers to other countries. I want to see a strong India that has a 'defensive' force, and which does not impose it's will on others. Having said that India has to be strong conventionally, and current levels of spending on defence by the Congress-left coalition is too low. India has to protect her basic integrity and territory, as this world is filled with too many rogue nations and actors who can harm the interest of the country. China along this line has been very aggressive towards India, more than any other country, and it's arms to Pakistan as a proxy to prod India time and again against the interest and harmony of the region has done a lot of harm, and will continue to be so. The Indian response to this Chinese aggression has been very weak, which naturally like all wild dogs has encouraged the Chinese to be even more provocative. There comes a time when you have to be a little bit more aggressive, stand your ground and protect your interests, otherwise the mad Chinese dog will walk all over you. Being well meaning, and taking countless visits to Beijing is really not enough. Indian politicians/bureaucrats must do more to protect Indian sovereignty. Forward reinforced concrete bunkers manned by heavily armed well stocked big battalions must be established in Arunchel Pradesh, Sikkim and Kashmir (mini-forts). Then negotiate for settlement.



Defence and national security issues.
I do hope that India does not conduct joint military exercises with China whilst the following issues remain outstanding:

China currently occupies Indian sovereign territory for 45 years, after starting a short undeclared war.
China arms failed state Pakistan with nuclear weapons and technology.
China backs Naxals and other leftist groups.
China builds strategic ports in Pakistan and Sri Lanka, Burma and other neighbouring countries which will be used to dock Chinese warships------a clear policy of encirclement.
The Chinese openly claim Arunchal Pradesh. The Chinese make illegal incursions into Sikkim, India's vassal state.
China opposes India's membership of the permanent Security Council seat.
China opposes the USA-India Nuclear deal.
China captures and humiliates Indian border guards, during a state visit by the Indian political leadership to China. I am not sure what other provocation you require from the Chinese? In the light of China's behaviour in the neighbourhood it is grossly incorrect to give a base to Singapore on Indian soil.
Based on the above points it is extremely strongly advised that India does not conduct joint military exercises with China, otherwise you are inviting future provocation from the Chinese. You are telling them that such provocation are not serious and that India in relation to China will always look away and take no notice if Beijing decides to do the dirty.
Well meaning handshakes are one thing with nice diplomatic pleasantries, but they have very little long term utility if they are not backed by real force.
Moving on to another point, India regrettably is yet again getting set to buy billions of $ worth of foreign military hardware, 60 years after independence, because the domestic arms sector hasn't got it's act together. No other country purchases so much hardware from foreign sources except Saudi Arabia and Pakistan-------------hmmmmn! Interesting club.
In relation to the proposed $10 billion combat aircraft purchase, my advice is to go for leased equipment for a couple of years 150-200 MiG-29's and SU-27 Flankers, and then when the Indo-Russian stealth project goes into production in the near future, stop leasing and seriously produce that one and press it into service asap. In all events we have got to get out of the bad habit of procuring military equipment from foreign sources.
The proposed $10 billion combat aircraft purchase will in reality cost a lot more than that. Planes service life lasts for 25 years, and in addition to the initial cost you have also got to think of the cost of the spares over 25 years. So the total actual cost of the planes could be 30-40 billion $ eventually. Is this cost effective? No! Not for a poor country like India. The planes on offer for purchase will become obsolete within a few years anyway.

So wait for the Indo-Russian stealth, and lease to fill the gap.
On the final point, Why are marginal minority characters being made Indian defence ministers? Fernandes, he who was humiliated, and Anthony. Does the elite establishment think defence is peripheral to India's needs, and thus the post can be used to 'token fill'. My humble advice is to take that portfolio a little bit more seriously because of 60 years of experience with Pakistan, and in addition because of an ascendant China. Get a caste Hindu to fill the post, with a NS background.
Maybe the politicians are fearful of a coup! Given the professionalism of the armed forces I hardly think, after 60 years there is anything to fear from that quarter.

PROPERTY BUBBLE BY VIVIAN NI

By Vivian Ni

Apr. 4 – Mumbai and Shanghai, as the financial centers of the world’s two biggest emerging economies, have witnessed their property markets go through a similar path over the past decade – seeing an astonishing price surge, experiencing the turbulence during and after the Global Financial Crisis, carrying the similar concerns over housing bubbles that exacerbate domestic inflation, and facing the social sentiment of the masses that cannot afford the expensive properties.

Mumbai is turning into one of the most expensive cities to live in among all the cities in the developing world. And as the Indian government has started to take measures to curb inflation, many property developers are now faced with fund shortages. A number of analysts and economists believe Mumbai’s property market will see an oversupply between 2012 and 2013, and predict that real estate prices will go down in the near future. Similar with India, the Chinese government has also issued a series of restrictive regulations recently in a bid to suppress property prices. However, both the Chinese people and the Shanghai local government do not seem to be very confident that the measures can thoroughly clear the bubble in the housing market. Whether Shanghai’s property market will finally become more affordable to people still remains a question.

Property market cap growth in Shanghai and Mumbai – a similar pattern
Both cities have experienced significant property price increases stepping into the 21st Century, and witnessed two major rounds of prosperity before and after the recent financial crisis. Although Shanghai’s property market started its boom a bit later than Mumbai’s, the price increases over such a short period have been just as intense.

Along with the strong economic growth and rapid urbanization, Mumbai’s real estate market started the price surge in 2000. By 2002, residential property in Mumbai was already worth 85 times of the city’s annual average income; while by 2006, the property value reached 100 times the average income.

A slightly overheated property market emerged in Shanghai in 2004, when house sales surged by 22 percent from a year earlier. However, some new government regulations released in 2005 restrained such an upward trend right away. The restriction that made buyers “wait and see” led to a strong growth in housing demand later in 2006 and 2007. Total house sales soared by 47 percent in 2007 from a year earlier, and average prices almost doubled the levels seen in 2000.

The Global Financial Crisis in 2008 hit both India and China’s property markets, but did not totally stop the market value growth in Mumbai and Shanghai. In India, although the domestic demand for luxury housing decreased by 50 percent, and demand for affordable housing fell by 10 percent that year, the Indian National Housing Bank’s property price indicator Residex still showed a moderate price index increase of 4.5 percent in Mumbai in the second half of 2008, compared to the first half.

Property prices in many major cities in China dropped during the second half of 2008, according to the China Real Estate Index System, but Shanghai’s prices still went up by 2 percent in nominal terms and remained at the same level if the inflation factor is counted.

The two cities’ property markets welcomed their second spring that came with the economic recovery and government stimulus packages to revive the economy. Residential property developers in India were encouraged to build large land inventories and by the fourth quarter of 2010, Rs.120 billion (US$2.7 billion) has been spent on such projects. In 2010 alone, property prices in Mumbai picked up by 60 percent. A rate like US$5.1 million (or US$17,000 per square meter) is typical for a 300 square meter luxury-used apartment in the city’s prime areas.

After the financial crisis, the Chinese government launched an RMB4 trillion (US$585 billion) stimulus package with allocations for housing and infrastructure projects, various favorable tax treatments to property buyers, and relaxed lending policies to both buyers and developers. The Shanghai market thus experienced a quick recovery, seeing an average 19 percent month-on-month increase between March and July, 2009.

How big is the housing bubble?
The soaring housing prices have been blamed as a major contributor to both India and China’s high inflation rates. India reported its inflation rate at 8.82 in February while China’s stood at 4.9, with concerns that its April consumer price index may exceed 5 again.

Property markets in emerging economies like China and India are also ideal destinations for speculators. The massive amounts of cash that have been invested into the market considerably lift property prices and exacerbate inflation.

While Mumbai’s property market was ranked as the 10th most expensive worldwide and Shanghai’s ranked 35th last year, the housing affordability in the two cities – if measured by income to price ratios – is typically low compared to other developed cities in the list. Disregarding the lending rate factor, an Indian citizen that earns an annual income at Mumbai’s average 2009 level of Rs.125,000 (US$2,812.8) will theoretically spend 369.3 years without any other consumption to afford a 75-square meter apartment that is worth US$1 million in South Mumbai. Shanghai’s houses are more affordable compared to Mumbai, but a Chinese citizen that makes Shanghai’s average 2010 annual income of RMB31,383 (US$4,868.6) still has to save 52 years without any other consumption to afford a 75-square meter apartment, according to 2010’s average per square meter house price level RMB22,261 (US$3,404.1) released by the government.

The low rental yields can be another indicator to show the size of the housing bubble in both cities. Statistics for 2010 show that Mumbai’s rental yields stand between 3.5 percent and 4.6 percent and Shanghai’s only 3.7 percent. The numbers that are usually tied up with the supply – demand conditions also revealed – to some extent – the real affordability of the market.

Will property prices fall?
In Mumbai, the expectation for its property market to decline is strong. In fact, prices have already started to drop in some areas of the city, such as Parel, Lower Parel, Mahlaxmi, Bandra East, Andheri East, Goreagon East, Mulund and Kurla. The overall price level has already seen a 20 percent correction from the peak level.

Lack of confidence in Mumbai’s property market also shows in the capital market. Major Indian property stocks have fallen by 27 percent in the past three months, warning people of potential risks brought by the expanding current account deficit and solvency issues.

The major factor that may lead to another 15 percent to 25 percent price fall in Mumbai’s property market is the fund shortage developers are currently suffering from. Many developers have started to offer discounts to buyers, hoping to mobilize fund inflows through increasing sales.

The funding channels for property developers in Mumbai are decreasing, as the Indian government is determined to curb inflation and banks continue raising their lending rates. The stock prices of India’s ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank have seen around 11 percent falls during the past three months, indicating the possibility that many Indian banks have been “tapped out” and it will become increasingly difficult for property developers to obtain loans from banks.

On the other hand, the speculation on a property oversupply in the near future is increasing. The U.S.-based real estate consultancy Jones Lang Lasalle believes that “the overall sentiments of the market and the consistent rate of new project launches in Mumbai give a clear indication of an impending oversupply by 2012.” Such a prediction will very likely lead to another round of property price falls.

The Shanghai market is faced with many similar challenges. Property developers are looking to raise more funds from channels other than banks, since the waiting-for-sale floor space has tied up a huge amount of funds, the lending rates have been going up, and some Chinese banks’ deposit-to-loan ratios are approaching the minimum reserve requirement.

Statistics from China CEIC Database show that by the end of June 2010, the waiting-for-sale floor space had reached 192 million square meters, tying up RMB1.6 trillion (US$244.7 billion) of funds.

After the People’s Bank of China lifted the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) to a record high of 20 percent in March, several major commercial banks such as China Merchants Bank and Bank of Communications are running out of their lending capabilities and may face a shrunk balance sheet if China raises the RRR again.

In addition to the fund shortage, the Shanghai property market may also need to watch out for a potential reversal in the supply-demand relationship. Demands are falling with the increasing down payment requirement for buyers, restrictions in loan issuance, and the introduction of property tax.

Despite all these challenges, the property price trend in the Shanghai market remains unclear. Various private equity funds still seem to be optimistic on Shanghai’s property market, providing property developers with a new avenue to raise funds from. The local government, often commented as being “knee-deep” in the housing bubble and gaining a great deal from land sales, did not specify any statistical goals in its latest 2011 property price control proposal, but only mentioned that it will try to keep the property price increase rate lower than the city’s GDP and average income growth rates.

Corruption

Its estimated that disloyal corrupt criminalized Indians have stashed away around $1,500 billion or $1,500,000,000,000 of the poverty stricken nations wealth in illegal accounts in Switzerland alone. Switzerland is not the only place you can stash your cash illegally.....there are numerous other tax-havens where banking laws are very lax........ Monaco, Liechtenstein, Channel Islands, Bermuda, Andorra, Cayman Islands, the Bahamas, relevant to India in terms of tax avoidance ...Mauritius, Seychelles, British Virgin Islands, Luxembourg, Macao, Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates...............and of course London and "the City". So what amounts of money have the disloyal corrupt criminalized Indians stashed their cash in these other tax havens? $500 billion or $1,000,000,000,000?

The GDP of India by PPP is anything between $3,500 billion to $4,000 billion. The money illegally off shored represents anything between 50---70% of the GDP of India measured by PPP.



Astronomical sums. I don't think any other nation off shores as much of its own wealth as India, illegally. Myself and the rest of India's 99% toil and slave, and less than 1 % of the country representing the elite loot the country..............is there a bigger crime and injustice in India? I DON'T THINK SO! What does this say about India's "ruling" elite?

Well obviously many of them are criminals, and corrupt who don't have much faith in the country.

Who are these disloyal corrupt criminalized Indians? Hey guess what you already know them. The Netas, the babus, and the captains of industry.......people in positions of power, responsibility, patronage, and rupees.

It all goes back to the British and the continuation of the British Raj system after "Independence" in 1947. Basically if you are going to rule a country, loot it ($1 trillion worth of Indian assets transferred to London 1757--1947), sermonize over it and treat it very badly (30 million Indians died under British rule)......then you need a lot of local criminalized chamars who don't have a problem with the British doing this to India, "No probs sahib we'll help you". Basically the decendents of these chamars, along with their colonial practices have continued with business as usual.

Baron Macaulay in 1835:

"We must at present do our best to form a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern; a class of persons, Indian in blood and color, but English in taste, in opinions, in morals, and in intellect. To that class we may leave it to refine the vernacular dialects of the country, to enrich those dialects with terms of science borrowed from the Western nomenclature, and to render them by degrees fit vehicles for conveying knowledge to the great mass of the population".

Now I know what he meant.



But the wider issue is this. If you can't sort out such basic requirements as building a simple tank.....and it subsequently takes 36 years...........then how do rely on the same netas and babus to solve and address the BIG urgent national needs of India? If they make a big hash over such simple project, with the massive talent pool in India in the first place, what does that mean for India really?

Does India require a revolution at the top?

Does the colonial era elite schools need to be dismantled?