Capitalism!! The Profit Culture

After the fall of the communists in the 80s, there was nobody to question America's capitalist philosophy. Everybody was convinced that the American way of dealing with life and managing economics was the best. But now after almost 25 years we are forced to reconsider.

The financial crisis that the world is in has proven that capitalism has its own downside. 

Superpowers - countries that were believed to be infallible - are feeling the heat. The great union that brought the European countries together under one umbrella (European Union) is on the verge of collapsing. They are desperately looking for a way out. 

People are out on the streets protesting against the corporate culture. They are complaining that billions and trillions of dollars have been spent in trying to save the very entities and policies that responsible for the crisis, especially when corporate honchos are still getting the huge paychecks and fat bonuses.

People are protesting against the stock markets that has given rise to the profit culture. They are accusing corporate managements of compromising the social fabric that binds the masses together in order the present good earnings. This insensitive and irresponsible behavior of the corporates has made the rich even richer and the poor even poorer.

The world will have to learn someday - that extreme of anything is bad. 

Extreme communism was not good. The fall of USSR has demonstrated this. 

Even extreme capitalism is also bad. The current global financial crisis has proven this. 

A healthy midway path has to be drawn. Something that can filter out the bad things and adapt the good things from both philosophies.

Sarpanch of Ralegan Siddhi to meet Rahul Gandhi - Something went wrong!

Positive signs were emerging during the course of the week when news got out that Rahul Gandhi, General Secretary of Congress Party wanted to meet the Sarpanch of Ralegan Siddhi, but then something once again went wrong. Apparently the Congress has once again shown that it cannot be trusted.

It seemed that it was the beginning of a new era. It appeared that, Rahul Gandhi the General Secretary of the Congress party had taken initiative and the air was being cleared for more fruitful talks on the Lokpal Bill. After all so much mistrust has crept in between the Congress-led rulers of India and Team Anna over the last few months.

But, then something went awlfully wrong. When Jaisingh Mapari, the Sarpanch of Ralegan Siddhi, reached Delhi, he was denied the change to meet Rahul Gandhi. The whole thing once again ended in a big fiasco.

A Congress MP P. T. Thomas who had apparently got the whole act together simply apologized saying that there was some communication gap.

“We feel cheated. Mr. Thomas was in constant touch with us till we reached New Delhi. But after that he told us that he hadn’t promised anything. Today we were told by Rahul Gandhi’s office that there was no appointment. Mr. Thomas has misled us. We never wanted to meet Rahul Gandhi. It was Mr. Thomas who took the initiative after visiting Ralegan Siddhi in August.” said Jaisingh Mapari

On the other hand, P. T. Thomas is saying that the “I told them to send me a letter in this regard, and that I would forward it to Mr. Gandhi’s office. When I received their letter and sent it to Mr. Gandhi, I was told that a meeting will be scheduled at the soonest possible time. However, there was a communication gap and my PA came under the impression that a meeting would be scheduled on October 18, and he informed Mr. Mapari. It is a case of miscommunication and I apologise for it.”

Faced with the two conflicting versions and given the track record of how the Congress has back-tracked on some many issues in the past some time - I feel that I am inclined to believe Jaisingh Mapari's version.

It is surprising how the Congress is managing such goof-ups with such regularity..

Formula One is coming to India - Finally!

Finally - Formula One is coming to India.

30th October 2011! India will host the first Formula One race at New Delhi's Buddh International Circuit.

The event managers in India are busy preparing the new Buddh International Circuit - where these formula ones are expected to roar from Friday the 28th. The event has been named 2011 Formula 1 Airtel Grand Prix of India.

The race promises to change the way Indians view the motor racing events.

Bharti Airtel is the official sponsor for the event.

Sahara, which is the sponsor of the Indian Cricket Team, has also decided to take a dip. It is once again entering through the team sponsorship route. It has been reported that the company is taking a small stake in Vijay Mallya's Force India Formula1 Team.

Let us see how things span out. I am sure the event will be as exciting as it is reputed to be.

Anna Hazare takes the Congress Party head-on

Anna Hazare's anti-corruption campaign has started becoming an anti-Congress campaign.

Anna had earlier said that he will campaign against the Congress Party in the forthcoming elections if it does not bring in the Jan-Lokpal Bill during the winter session of the parliament.

It seems that he has started a precursor to this in the Hisar parliamentary polls.

It is reported that Anna's aides have left for Hisar with a CD, that has a 10 minute video of Anna's appeal asking the voters to ensure and support only the candidate who is willing to support the Jan Lokpal Bill when and if it is tabled in the parliament during the winter session.

The non-violent anti-corruption crusader Anna is not willing to sit back and trust the Congress party to keep up promises. He apparently feels it necessary to keep up the pressure on the Government, after all as he says he feels cheated by the way the Congress led UPA government has reacted to his anti-corruption campaign right from its beginning.

Judging by the way the people had come out to support Anna's anti-corruption movement in the country,  I feel that the Congress should not take Anna's request for Jan-Lokpal Bill casually. It is time for the nations oldest party to get into damage control mode and take steps to win back public support, after all  it has lost a lot of credibility in the last few months.

Long-live Bapu!

Lage Raho Munnabhai, a film by Raju Hirani - in which a local gangster gets the chance to learn in detail about Mahatma Gandhi. The film acted as a prelude and simply brought back Gandhi-giri into our lives.

Next came Anna Hazare's fast in 2011. The current generation got a first hand taste of Bapu's style of non-violent protest and experienced the power of hunger strike. When Anna Hazare fasted first at Jantar-Mantar and then at Ramlila Maidan, he repeatedly reminded the people not to take to violence. The government had to bow before this Gandhian protestor both times.

Both - Raju Hirani and Anna Hazare - have brought back into our lives the power of Bapu's ideology.

Today is Bapu's 142^nd birth anniversary.

Jan-Lokpal Bill - Everyone has won

The strength of Anna Hazare's anti-corruption movement can be truly classified as a victory for democracy. The government, the parliament, the constitution, Team Anna and mainly the common man - everybody won.

Yesterday's rejoicing at India Gate in the evening. The crowd that had gathered, showed the level of involvement of the common man with the issue. Just the knowledge that the government has agreed to include the points raised by the Jan-Lokpal Bill in its final bill was enough to bring the people out on the streets.

The Signal
The mass gathering at India Gate and reports of rejoicing from other parts of the country on 28-August-2011 is a clear signal of how dear this issue is to the common.

It is clear signal to the politicians that this is a golden opportunity for them to ensure their seat in the next parliament. They will have to come all out in the open and maintain a consistent and visible pressure on the government to speed up the process underway at the Standing Committee and pass the bill at the earliest.

Swami Agnivesh
Where everyone has won, there is one face that has lost credibility.

A revealing video shown on several news channels where Swami Agnivesh is seen talking someone named Kapil. He appears to be referring to Team Anna as a mad elephant. The content of the discussion was enough to brand him a traitor.

Now, Swami Agnivesh can give all the justification he wants and the accusation may not stand in the court of law, but the common man does not need any more proof.

The Anna Hazare agitation

The anti-graft agitation led by Anna Hazare has reached a crucial stage. The fast of the 74-year ex-Army man has entered into its 12th day. According to the doctors overseeing his health he is weakening by the hour. He could be declared critically ill if he his fast is not broken soon.

Looking into the gravity of the situation the government has brought the topic for discussion in the parliament and members of parliament have started discussing the points raised in both the houses - Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha - and they seem to agree (some conditionally) on all the issues raised by Anna Hazare and his team.

Now, it is the afternoon of 27th August 2008 and by the looks of the way things are moving in Parliament, if there is voting and the parliament votes in line with Annaji's expectations, today could be the last day of his fast, though the agitation is likely to continue until the bill is actually enacted.