Open Letter to Aamir Khan

Dear Shri Aamir Khan,
    For a nation faced with a largely incompetent and irresponsible media, your production and presentation of Satyameva Jayate comes as a breath of fresh air. Indeed, I feel that the only three groups doing real journalism in the nation today are RTI activitists, Whistleblowers, and the Satyameva Jayate team.
    I write this letter mainly in response to the episode on mental disorders which was aired a few weeks ago. I feel that, unknowingly, you may have caused much harm to those suffering such illnesses. Let me elaborate.
    A key point that emerged during your discussion was the very persuasive advise to the viewers to go in for medication, with a strongly hinted assurance that mental illnesses could actually be cured with psychotropic drugs.
    Nothing can be further from the truth..

Chacha Modi

Did Nehru create a Modi?

Our first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru was enthusiastic about 'developing' India. Present Prime Minister Narendra Modi too is showing great enthusiasm for 'development'. So is Modi a new avatar of Nehru?
I feel there is an important distinction which motivates their development dream, but also a significant common-ness among these two leaders. The latter is a cause for concern.
Not much should be made of the fact that Nehru fancied state-dominated enterprises, while Modi fancies a private capital dominated enterprise. Actually, both prime ministers are following the popular trend of their times.
The 1950s and 60s were a period of humane, welfare state thinking - even western capitalist nations in Europe developed strong state welfare programmes during that time. Today's political climate is quite the reverse; it is dominated so much by a mercenary capitalistic thinking that even communist China is developing capitalist expertise..

How to Self-Destruct a Second Time

Naidu brings in the Colonisers - again

Shri Chandrababu Naidu has done it again.

Nineteen years ago, he became Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh and spent 9 years on the job. But he made a mess of it because he believed blindly in what the foreign management experts told him. In the process, he nearly sent the state to economic ruin.

Four months ago, Naidu once more took over as Chief Minister of a truncated Andhra Pradesh. And he is taking exactly the same steps as he did 15 years ago. He has hired McKinsey as his economic advisor. They are preparing a 'vision' document to liberally develop the state. State assets and resources are being prepared to be given to private corporations. Millions of farmers may lost their land and forced to migrate.

Did we say he is doing all this for the second time? A little recap may be useful.

Principles of Economics, Governance and Education

     In an earlier post 'The present disorder in the nation', I ended with a question as what could be an alternative to modern-day chaos. This post tries to answer that question, with a proposal listing fundamental principles of economics, governance and education. 
     Basis 1: Economics

     A large society, or nation, is a collection of sustainable communities. Economically, it is important that every community be sustainable in itself, in as much as it produces a large number of its needed goods. Every citizen is assured of a livelihood in that community itself. When we don't have this, then we see the sorrow of migration, exploitation and poverty.

     A community is a socio-economic-ecologic unit; a sustainable community implies that social concerns, economic concerns and environmental concerns are all effectively addressed within the system. This underscores the fact that livelihood is not just about 'making money' – it is a socio-economic-ecologic action. Every family is provided opportunity to be industrious – it works to produce goods needed by itself and its community, it derives satisfaction from that action and result, the work is done in social harmony, strengthening the social fabric, and that work, done on and using natural resources, ensures ecological balance.

Season of Immaturity

     We had three immature people hogging television last week - displaying various degrees of narcissism.

     Narendra Modi finally came before the media. For months now, he has been constantly taunted for not facing questions, and he had to do something about it. Last week, he gave three interviews, to ANI, to IBN network and to ETV.

     In all three meetings, the interviewers were hesitant and nervous, Modi was uncomfortable but autocratic, and the questions were soft and superficial. Yes, it is a fact that ETV is owned by Ambani, and that TV18, which runs the IBN network, is also mortgaged to Ambani. But let us not get distracted by that.

  I have seen journalists get overawed by great statesmen or great philosophers, it happens. But this was not that. The journalists here were nervous, they were careful that they should not offend him, when all their lives, they do nothing but offend guests in their studios. So either the conditions were laid out carefully by the BJP and the 'right' journalists selected, or we must face the fact that it is not only Muslims and small children who are scared of Modi, but also Hindu adults in the media.

The 100-city Madness

     P.Chidambaram and N. Modi are closer to one another than what their statements on media make it appear. Both share a common economic strategy for the nation. Even though they are at each other's throats - with Chidu naming Modi a brute, and Modi calling Chidu an artificial sophisticate, the two share a common dream for the nation - to build one hundred more cities.
     We may call this the  'modimbaram' strategy. What it underlines is a significant fact - that whether we get a Congress or BJP government, the act of copying economic policy of the USA is going to continue. This portents a tremendous upheaval which will tear out the heart of this country, but I am afraid that such a vital issue has been left untouched, unexplored, by media and intellectuals.
     What does this imply - this building of a hundred more cities? What will be the population of each city? Say, 30 lakhs, which is a small-to-medium city size. Who will populate these cities? Not the residents of Mumbai and Chennai and New Delhi; neither Modi nor Chidambaram will shift there - these new cities will be created out of a massive disturbance to the Indian rural environment.