The Inevitable "Change" - Is it really surprising?

A lot of "change" is happening in India these days and trust me it's the best time to be part of this change, atleast we get to see 'how exactly things actually "change" in a country'. And that too in a country like India (with world's 20% population & world's largest democracy), a country which has always been believed to be run in a particular way. A common saying in India has always been, 'Yahaan aise hi chalte aaya hai, aur aise hi chalega'. To all those smart chaps who believed in this saying like the last generations, here comes the "change" - atleast to the law and order situation.

Like we all see in newspapers and television these days, a lot of large scale scams are in limelight, and a lot of finger pointing is happening all over the country. Seems like all the big agencies, news channels, political parties & large corporates of the country are involved in some way or the other. Is it surprising, really? I am not surprised and I know you are not surprised either, since we all have been brought up with the lesson that in India, we will have to pay some "under the table" charges at all the levels. What do you think these all charges add up to - simple 1000 rupees for 100 crore people makes 1 lakh crores.. Huh! I never thought it that way.

Then why is there such a big fuss about all these scams, and why are they confusing us? May be because we all as a nation have always been part of them, but never really accepted them as existent, and now every one is playing the "innocent game". Or, may be because some of us were so busy in our own lives that we never really bothered about these scams, and now are surprised how is it possible when so many legal agencies exist. Or, may be because we were brought up with the philosophy that everyone is doing some thing wrong, ignore that and focus on your own development, and now we are all confused when so called "accepted norms" are being punished. 

If with these scams, 90% people want to say - "what a shame to them and the country?" May be we should check our own records and see how many times we or our parents have paid 'extra' bucks or used 'extra' powers to influence some decisions for our advantage. It's fed deep in our roots, where we pay 100 rupees at the traffic signal to the Pan shop, or 500 rupees for the driving license to the license broker or 1000 rupees for other day to day documents. This entire system is existing right here, and we all as a nation have always been part of it. 

But there is a subtle difference happening fundamentally. We never accepted these facts as a nation and I think it's part of the "change" that this all is happening, since I believe that the first part of any change is the acceptance of facts in the real world, and that's what all these scams are really doing. These scams are looking at us directly in our faces, and saying it's the right time to bring everything to transparency, and contribute to the change. May be we all are corrupt, may be we all have been corrupt, but let's not take that ideology to the next generations. May be this finger pointing by the highest court of our country to the Prime Minister, Chief Ministers, CBI, Media houses is a right step forward. May be this is really called "democracy". May be there is a message that not every one is corrupt yet. May be there is a message that a "change" is knocking at our doors. Lets welcome the first step in the "change", and see the new legislations/rules or the steps of development that will follow. The one who orients in the direction would lead the nation.

Is MNS on the verge of being banned?

There are few politicians in the country who simply don't understand the basic concepts of macro economics like brand image of the country in international arena or happiness index of the society, because what they care about is their 1 lakh votes. This is the current state of MNS, a local political party in Maharashtra, India.

Rediff quotes - "The 13 Members of Legislative Assembly of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena on Monday, 9th Nov 2009, created a ruckus in the Maharashtra assembly, after Samajwadi party MLA Abu Asim Azmi started to take his oath in Hindi, in spite of their demand that all legislators take the pledge in Marathi.As soon as Azmi began taking the oath in Hindi, the 13 member-strong MNS contingent rushed towards Azmi, snatching the mike away from the podium"

Today's shameful act by MNS MLAs has not only shown disrepect to the Marathi / Indian culture but to the law and order of the country. The way our leaders of MNS behaved today in the parliament made us feel ashamed in front of the entire world but I think we should not lose hope from our country's law and order. I hope there would be strict actions taken against these MLAs and the political party. This poses a follow-up debate - Is MNS on the verge of being banned?

Raj has threatened the legislative assembly saying, "If any MLA does not take the oath in Marathi, the House will see what happens,". Is this acceptable in any economy where law and order exists. Are these guys Indian Talibans?

Some views from people I know and which I found intriguing:

• MNS should be banned by Supreme Court and if not then PMO or President, else I will go and start shooting these street gundas
• If action isn't taken against Raj Thackeray and MNS then we will never feel like a democracy again. If action isn't taken on this incident then how can we ever feel like the law exists
• I love this city and we all do so how does it matter if we say Bombay or Mumbai
• This is a cosmopolitan place and we should all be able to live peacefully together

We would love to hear your views on this shameful act of MNS...

42 ‘harassed’, many in jail for seeking information under RTI in Bihar

42 ‘harassed’, many in jail for seeking information under RTI in Bihar

I blogged this article of Indian Express mainly because of two reasons, one that it is an attempt to highlight the current state of law and order in Bihar, and other that it paints skewed or only half image of the story. The heading of the blog itself is misleading since it mentions that people are being harassed which is correct but I guess this is the first time in the history of Bihar when the government is trying to bring in transparency in the system; CM has set up a call center for RTI applicants. 

I am thankful to the journalist of this article 'Santosh Singh' who brought this issue in lime light, but a misleading heading can lead to biased opinion about current state of law and order in Bihar. We know that its not the best in the country but it is definitely improving and there are some NGOs and independent bodies who are contributing to the state. We should boost up their morale by praising their efforts, and not highlighting the terror or harassment, which is true for states like WB, UP or Delhi also.

Excerpts from article: 

In Bihar, often a time, information officials harass RTI applicants by filing false cases against them. The Bihar Human Rights Commission (BHRC) has now recommended that all these officials be placed under suspension. 

BHRC member Justice Rajendra Prasad wrote to the state government on October 29 directing it to “look into the complaints of harassment of RTI applicants by lodging false criminal cases against them by, or at the instance of, state public information officers”.

The allegations, Justice Prasad wrote, constituted “a serious violation of the human rights of the people of Bihar in general, and the existing and potential seekers of information under the RTI Act, 2005, in particular”.

All information officials “to whom such (RTI) applications were given” should be “immediately suspended” and “departmental proceedings (should) be initiated against... (them) within four weeks of receipt of a copy of this order”, Justice Prasad recommended.

“...All criminal cases filed against RTI applicants (should) be dropped wherever such cases have been initiated after the date on which such applicants or their family members gave applications under the RTI Act”. 

The Commission has asked the government to send “a report of the actions taken... within six weeks from receipt of copy of this order”, failing which it would be “constrained to invoke provisions of Section 18 (b) of the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993”.

Section 18 of the Act deals with “steps after inquiry”, and includes provisions such as approaching the high courts or the Supreme Court.

The officials under the BHRC scanner range from the District Magistrate, Muzaffarpur (who was in charge in 2006) to sub-divisional police officers, circle officers and block development officers, down to officers-in-charge of police stations.

The Commission acted on a complaint by Bihar Right to Information, a voluntary group devoted to taking RTI to the people since 2007. Group coordinator Parveen Amanullah told The Indian Express: “We wrote to the CM thrice, took up the matter during his janta darbars, but there were follow-ups in only two cases.”

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has won accolades from the central government and other agencies for setting up the country’s first RTI call centre — a pioneering concept that has been replicated subsequently.

 

Role of Media in today's Indian Scenario

This blog is written and owned by Saurabh Gupta
This sensitive topic was in my mind for quite some time now but I always got busy with other things - Media in today's world, today's Indian scenario, plays an integral role to ensure smooth functioning of the country and it was most evident during the Mumbai Massacre (26th-28th November 2008), that continued for ~60 hrs. Media crew (Reporters, Technicians, and Cameramen) tried their best to get the most updated news to the viewers throughout the world.

I have heard people saying that it's all business and hence each news channel wants to increase its TRP; I would say that these are people who are doing their jobs in the best possible manner. When a soldier fights at the border his selfish interest remains that he wants to perform his best for the country and so remains the selfish interest of the reporter. When it comes to the crisis situations like Mumbai Massacre then Military and Media come to the rescue of the trapped people and the people who are worried about their loved ones. They were the bold media personnel who brought home continuous news and events - hats off to them.

It’s said that Media has got the power to turn around thrones and that's evident in the tough times like this Mumbai tragedy and the follow up. Media could have asked the questions (how, why and what next) to the Government when the rescue operations were on but they behaved responsibly that time and ensured that latest news were brought to the loved ones of those who were trapped in the hotels. Now when the time is right, they are questioning the governments (both Central and State) about the casual approach that government took for this whole tragedy.
Warnings were given by IB and RAW to the State Government and after that there was so less security in the South Mumbai area. Above all, Maharashtra Deputy CM Mr. R. R. Patil says that these small things happen in the big cities. This approach clearly reflects that this massacre means nothing to him and his allies. Media is doing its work and it is doing its work too well by ensuring that these questions are asked in front of the country so that faces of all corrupt politicians are shown to the people.

Everything seems to be in place when we talk about Media but there is one thing which is missing - an active regulatory body to monitor the news content shown to the country. There is a regulatory body but it functions only when there is conflict of interests between two parties. When I said we need the body I have got my reasons for the same.

• Content Regulation - There should be regulations to edit disturbing pictures shown over television (news, special reports etc) like Cigarettes are banned to be shown on TV. Today we are asking every one to remain united in this difficult time and fight against terror, but think about the kids who see the scary pictures shown in the news channels. They would grow up with terror within them. Some might get mentally disturbed due to these pictures. Channels like AAJ TAK and India TV should be given serious warnings regarding their content.
• Ethical behavior - The news channels should not be allowed to bias the ongoing judicial cases by using the extreme terms like faces of death etc. These terms just bias Junta's viewpoint towards the case and the convicts. Incidents have been reported when media has pointed fingers over people and they were declared innocent by the court but in the eyes of Junta, they remained criminals. As an example - each convict in the Arushi murder case was at one time or the other was declared criminal over the news channels.
• Rating System - Sensitive news channels should be rated Adults and every program should come with serious age range warnings. There should be strict laws to ensure that children are not allowed to see adult content to ensure that they don't get scared from within.

There are some news channels that assume this responsibility and are the right picture of Media in the country today. Most of us know the channels that show responsible content, debates and viewpoints.
Today, India is moving in the right direction and Media is one of the strong pillars to ensure that. Media has helped in providing transparency and accountability in government operations. The latest challenge to the government which is New Age Terror would be addressed properly by the government and if not, then Media would help in providing the channel to question government.

This is what they call Gunda Raj

Date: 21st Oct. 2008, I woke up in the morning and like everyday, I switched on my TV. It was some news channel with its “Breaking News”. To my surprise, news this time was indeed breaking news. It said 'MNS Chief, Raj Thackeray arrested in Ratnagiri at about 2:30 AM'.

Raj Thackeray has addressed the issue of growth and opportunities of Maharashtrians (“Marathi Manoos”) all the time which according to him meant growth of Maharashtra. It's good to see that he cares about its local people much more than most of our leaders who visit their constituencies once in a while just to ask for their support. Somehow I am not quite convinced about his intentions and approach. In his campaigns, I see same old tactics of politicians to misguide voters and common men, just to grab power and public wealth.

Just to mention, political career of Raj Thackeray started when he quit his Uncle’s (Bala Saheb Thackeray) party (Shiv Sena) and started his own political party “Maharashtra Nav-nirmaan Sena (MNS)” to gain some power and establish his own identity. Most of us already know how a virtually non-existent leader of Shiv Sena grew up to become one of the most popular leader of Maharashtra almost overnight. Since then he is trying to prove his superiority over his counterparts in Shiv Sena.

Now my concern is that if this is someone’s personal matter then why common men is being dragged into all this. How can anybody expect to show his superiority by openly challenging law and order? It’s certainly not possible in an educated society, but I guess it’s baseless to assume such things in our country where you can convince anyone to fight and even kill others for incentives that can be as small as a bottle of liquor and meal for one time.

These leaders (I do believe MNS chief is not the only one. Almost 90% of our leaders are doing this) make use of this population and misuse their powers, resources, infrastructure and above all man-hours. All of above mentioned things are to a large extent tax payer’s money. So directly or indirectly it is affecting all of us.

Let us analyze few incidents that happened in the recent past:

At the time when our popular leader got arrested recently the very first reaction of his own party workers (who I assume share same feelings for their very own state) is to torch buses, taxis, bus stands, toll plaza. What are they doing now? Is it a agitation against North Indians as half of the labor employed in these places are North Indians, or is it agitation against the system which did not take any action against their leader till it became inevitable. I assume, in the end, that it's nothing but agitation against growth and progress of wealthiest state of the country.

In the end they are doing same things against the reason for which they are fighting … poor people!!! Or maybe they have been ordered by their chief to destroy everything that has any association with North Indians. :)

Secondly, let’s go back to from where it all started? How is it possible that our dedicated leader has realized that this state is being dominated by North Indian population just when state elections are close? Why is he doing all this? If this is just to be in power, I have a different opinion on it. Assuming MNS might come into power by all of this. What next??... Raj Thackeray will become new Chief Minister of the state. He will have few more powers to influence local people or maybe he can go ahead and ban North Indians from working in the state so that his very own “Marathi Manoos” get a preferential treatment in their very own state. But wait!! He is doing all this right now and maybe he is doing it much openly and effortlessly than he will be able to do when he is in power.

What else might be the reason to do all this? Next thing which I can think of is monetary gains. But in common man’s language we call it corruption. Oops!!! Knowingly or unknowingly quite a few of us have supported a potentially corrupt leader in this case.

Huh!! Not again. It’s hard to believe so much blind followers of a person who has indicated his greed for money and power. If this is even 10% true, I simply feel sorry for the future of this state. There should be a law that can impose a life time ban on political careers of people with such intentions. But, we are living in a democratic country where anything is possible if you have power. :)

There is no doubt that standard of life and opportunities in few cities in Maharashtra is much much better than any other city in India. Having said that, we can’t deny that it's a collaborative effort of more than 50 years rather than efforts of a particular community or group. So it’s my sincere request to our Marathi friends to not get carried away without any reason and collaboratively contribute towards the growth of the state.

If incidents like this keep on happening, I, being an employer, don’t find a reason to continue creating jobs here when I don’t feel safe and I am forced to employ workforce on the basis of their origin rather than their abilities.

This is just my personal opinion and everyone is free to agree or disagree. I chose this platform just because I could not organize a rally in some huge ground or gain media attention like our esteemed leaders to express my opinion.

Singur Nano story - Was Bengal ready for it?

This blog is written and owned by Saurabh Gupta
Nano (Lakhtakia) has remained in the news channels, summits and discussion forums worldwide for various reasons; be it the cheapest car tag, car for poor tag, India's technology showcase tag, Tata's promise to poor tag or the dispute over the farmer's land.

This story brings in the foreground the other side of the emerging Brand India, where some States are not ready for the change or atleast the political leaders are not ready for the change. It's the beauty of democracy which gives us the right to get the public cooperation and turn around things, and India is a living example of this concept. I would also like to bring up that if we really want things to move as planned by the government then we should move to the concept of Communism like China, but do we really want that? I would vote for 'No' as we cherish Freedom - freedom of words, thoughts, ideas and we believe in the same. I am sure that Tatas would have done great job for the future of Bengal, no doubt about it but is it only Future that we should invest in? I want to quote an example out here to give a lateral picture of what I am thinking - I always used to curse people who steal National property but never thought why they do the same. Some do it for fun and I still curse them, but there are some who are hungry and hunger comes before National identity; they steal because they are struggling with their Present. They laugh at these speeches because they are not sure about their Present and leaders are busy planning for Future. The leaders are putting money for Future but are they fulfilling the dreams of the Present? I don't know the answer to this question because all of this is politically driven but I think its a good mathematical problem as to what proportion of the national funds should be used for Future and what for Present?

Let's discuss Singur plant story, Tatas are finally planning to move out of Bengal and Singur plant is shut. Somewhere over the net, I read that its a black day for Bengal and India, and I will say Yes & I might support No too. Ratan Tata said it right that if Bengal doesn't need them then they will go away and they stood by their words. It's the decision taken by the State of Bengal to not support Tatas and they will see impact of the same in coming years, but who knows they might be happy with it. Mamata might get people's support and become CM, people would feel happier with no industrialization in the State and Tatas would get a better deal in other State. So, in the end everyone might feel happy, except the current CM who wanted the change but didn't check whether the time is right or not. You can't bring a change until the time is right. Among all of this chaos ,what will happen to the youth of Bengal. What about their Future? No issues, people move to other places if there are gaps in the system. IITians used to move to US in 80s & 90s for the same reason. People from all over the country come to Maharashtra for the same reason. We might see the Bengal government after 15 years cribbing about brain drain problem. But what should a good leader do in between all this bullshit?
Some weeks back I was given a brain teaser, when this whole Singur issue was connected to Indian partition issue in 1947. Jinnah's role was assumed to be played by Ratan Tata who is interested in Nano project only, Nehru's role was assumed to be played by Mamata Banerjee who is interested in West Bengal only, Nano plant was assumed to be Pakistan which either stays with Bengal or go away (with Ratan Tata), West Bengal now was assumed to be India and Mahatma Gandhi's role was assumed to be played by Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee. I didn't know that answer then as I wasn't sure whether moving out of Bengal (or parallely having a separate country) was a better solution or not, but in the end its about safety of our people and in democracy people come first. So, Bengal people decided against Singur and Tatas are out. People call 14th August 1947 as a black day for India and we are still fighting because of that one decision. Gandhi in 1947 was looking for peaceful lands which didn't turn out as planned. Same might exist over here too, but living in the same land and fighting is not the solution. I don't know whether it is right or not but I am sure that there exists many dimensions to this whole story.

Will this have impact on India shining story?

Join Bold Journalism than just reading bullshit

Watching news channel has become comic & total time pass these days; and gossips are something that media focus on all the time. Aajtak, NDTV, Channel 18, IBN7, LIVE India or be it any other news channel focus mainly on third grade news rather than covering what really needs to be captured. I have heard complaints mainly from Youth section and which in itself means future India, which implies that bull shit is not something that is gonna sell for long. Lets capture the problem from various angles.

What news channels currently focus on?
Trespassing privacy of Bollywood Stars is something they love. Be it King Khan, Kareena Kapoor or Aishwarya Rai. News like Aishwarya - Abhishek's marriage, their honey moon and first Karwa Chauth is something that news channels die for. Other focus point is Cricket. No need to describe any further, just go to any news channel.

Why do news channel focus on Bollywood, Cricket and Hindu - Muslim issues all the time?

Because it sells. Because people love to hear about bollywood stars, Cricket and other fun stuff. Fair enough but does that mean that real news should be kept at the back drops. Problem with people is that they complaint all the time about the stories but buy the same stories.

Is real journalism still alive?
Indian Express has been selling news for decades and hopefully will keep doing that. Its tag line has always been Journalism of Courage. Tehelka has come up with so many sting operations, being a team with no support around. I have seen so many interviews of Tarun Tejpal and the times when he had no money to support his team. People supported him from behind but no one came up in front.

How can we support the real news, media and Journalism?
We can either support bull shit or we can get associated in some way to Tehelka, Indian Express and support real Journalism. We can work with spreading awareness about what powerful people are trying to hide with their power and money. I think Internet is the best source to come up with support teams, groups, organizations, websites and express our views.

Why do we support real news?
You won't believe but there is a thin line between lying this side or that side of the territory. Once you are on that side, you will understand the need of real journalism. There are thousands of people here in the country who are cheated knowingly or unknowingly but they can't do anything. Even if you know that your tax paid money is being misused, you can't do anything. Even if you know that you are correct by law but you crossed the path of a powerful man and hence doomed is more frustrating than anything. Also, if you are here at Startupsinindia means that in future you want to work on your own, having your own start up and that means you want a proper Judicial system in the country and people (be it politician or actor) should follow the rules. We need to support the cause than to wait to see the results.

Cross questions that follow up --
First of all, whose fault is this that these bull shit news channels are making money? Why are they keep getting all this news and how can this be ended? Does this mean that media is dead and we don't have people who know the meaning of Journalism? Can someone sell bullshit if no one buys it? Can someone do something if they can't generate money out of it?

Answer lies in the fuel of India - Youth and I believe that we will in sometime understand the need of real media.

Root cause of Brain Drain

This blog is written and owned by Saurabh Gupta
I have always questioned the idea of working for other countries, and have been thinking about 'Brain Drain' issue for quite sometime now. Giving it a deeper thought, I figured out that it is not an issue, it is an Escape; Escape from a system which claims to be clean and clear but is hollow from inside, which claims to be promoting Youth and Future India but is actually hindering the growth of very basic quality of leadership among them. I realized that most of the people don't care about whom they are working for or why they are working for them. They work for a peaceful and happy life where they can live with Self-respect and enjoy a free life. If you look at the present scenario, people are not crazy about America, they are crazy about the quality of life there. American economy (for example) doesn't ask its citizens to work for their companies only or live in the country; they just provide a clean, independant and accountable system where a common man can sit, relax and enjoy. They preach Freedom, Liberty and Independence and even though we preach the same, we just ignore to provide the freedom of self-respect to a common man. Common man can't defend himself if a powerful man goes against him, his family or his life.

If looking closely to the problem of corruption at the lowest level, in US, there is a system of tipping and people who earn less are tipped and hence they don't need to ask for bribes. Why can't we look for similar solutions? Why are we always asked for bribes? Why only licenses issued easily to powerful people and a common man has to fight it out? Why are we supposed to pay bribes for each and every government work? Issue is Accountabilty, Issue is ill use of power, Isue is Bol Bacchan Amitabh Bacchan... Leaders say tonnes of things but the very basic problem of ill treatment of common man is not targeted by anyone.

If you look at the issue of Brain Drain closely, it is not that people are betrayers of the country if they work for foreign companies or go to foreign countries to work. They want to live with self-respect and they don't want to see all this mess lying here. Law of the land is to protect yourself and your Family and provide them a good quality of life. Law and Order in India is forcing all those who can ESCAPE, to escape from the system. If you have lived in this country, you must have seen lines of people around MLAs, MPs, Ministers and if you want to lead a good quality of life, you ought to know these people.

Here arises the problem.. In good colleges like IITs and IIMs, students are taught to be the best in whichever field they enter but when they enter the world, they see the power lingering around the politicians and messy Law and Order situation. It is the loop hole in our economy which is forcing this talent to leave the country and American politicians are smart enough to attract this talent.

Seeing all this situation in the country, the reflex action is to escape, escape to a place where common man can dream, live and has a accountability if something wrong is done. Practically speaking, there is no such place but some places are better if Law and Order situation is compared.

Some scenarios commonly seen which force me to think to escape; you are going with your sister and you hear a comment or you hear abusive words. You are robbed on a street and you go to police station for help, but you are blamed for everything. Your son is missing and you are a common man. You are asked for money for a driving license even if you satisfy all the criterias. If you think about these situations closely, not everyone would like to go and fight, but every powerful man will say; Dare someone say or do this thing to me. This country is great for Powerful leaders, Politicians, Collectors, SPs, renowned Doctors but no one cares about the common man. Even if I am at a good post, I can't see a common man treated like that and so my reflex action is to go for a free land or to do something to change law and order situation of this land.

Brain Drain situation is there because those who can, just escape. I think 75% population, if given chance will escape this system, not for money but for a better life. And, the remaining 25% are those people who have power and need common man to show that power. I am not saying that corruption is there in India only, all I am saying is that in this country common man is ill-treated.

We all think about the ways to solve the problems existing in the country. I have always believed that generating employment, opening new sectors and streamlining the system can solve the problems. For most of these is required to retain the brains of this country to remain in the country and work for it. To tell you the truth, seeing the current Law and Order situation in India, sometimes I feel like living in a developed country. If you want to retain the Youth then you ought to give them respect and make leaders out of them and not coward, scary followers of this frustrating system. All that is needed is accountabilty if something wrong is done anywhere in the system.