Reflections

An honest submission: I am a confirmed capitalist. Socialism holds no allure for me; it is a recipe for certain disaster. Let me spell it out right at the start, lest readers jump to the conclusion that I am a socialist sympathiser from the rest of the article. For that is my precise submission: Arvind Kejriwal's policies are nowhere near being socialist. In fact, the entire brouhaha around his policies points to a rather unfortunate selfishness of the Urban Indian Citizen. This article may hurt many readers of my blog, and perhaps drive some away; but I have always called it like I see it.  It is time for a reality check on our so-called tremendous growth from 1991. And one figure - only one figure is all I require to make my point. The per capita income of the bottom 20% of India's population has not changed (as a percentage share) since 1978. That means, the bottom 20% of our population has not benefited at all from our economic boom. This means rising inequality and...

  In the first part of the review, I had given the outline of the book, and the overall approach. As I stated earlier, the book focuses on core issues of governance: giving people a say in the running of government in areas that directly impact them; control over governmental money, as well as the total lack of accountability in the cadres of the government servants in the state and central government. This is a hard fact; I am reminded of a news article of today wherein the police refused to take action against a person because he was a senior Mantralaya official - and in fact took action against a teenage girl over a matter of a football! This is the kind of environment we live in; each one of us can readily think up of several such cases. As another example: I still haven't got my Marraige Certificate; I dont know whom  to approach to get it done - as I wont pay a bribe. There can be countless such experiences when a normal citizen feels totally helpless. An...

" So it is clear that neither than the MPs and MLAs help solve our daily problems, nor can they help in getting good laws passed. This is the dichotomy of the situation. We elect them, but they act according to the wishes of the party they belong to. And if they dont toe the party line, they are punished and may even have to lose the membership of the house or assembly. So, even if you elect a good and honest person as a MP or MLA from your area, it will neither solve the issues of your area, nor will he or she be able to help pass a good law. Isnt it a queer democracy, where neither the public is heard, nor its representatives? " The above lines should touch a chord in every Indian hearts. It is difficult to argue with such powerful logic. And that is the central thrust of this book: that the people of India are effectively powerless, and have been emasculated by the current system. This is a feeling that all of us can empathise with, having dealt with it a...

Four years and 11 terror attacks later, Natgrid, NCTC still in pipeline - Hindustan Times : 'via Blog this' " The National Counter Terrorism Centre -  the one stop-shop for generating intelligence, analysing the inputs to connect the dots and carrying out counter-strikes - has been in the deep freezer since last year after states put their foot down. The states were worried it encroached their powers ." The people are dying on the streets... and the best our awesome political masters can do is fight like spoilt brats over turf! Reminds me of my childhood, when I or my siblings would fight like cats and dogs over which cricketer is better, who does the ball-point pen belong to etc! It is simple logic that terror can only be a central subject, given its international links. Yes, there will be procedural hassles that will need ironing out, but the moot point is still that terror is something that crosses state borders, and has central links and support from...

Let us carry the reasoning from the previous post forward. I have seen other interactions on the topic of corruption at a personal level, and have seen similar levels of interest. The exact same has been my experience on my blog, when The Krishna Key book review can get me 1000+ hits in a very short time; but corruption analysis get me a fraction of that number.  Not only that, now recall incidents of the past 2 years when the so-called young people were rising, or all of middle class India was in outrage: AMRI Fire India Against Corruption Janlokpal Nirbhay / Women Safety Clean India Green India All of these now lie forgotten. There is little coverage in Media of this. And to those who say that the Media has been influenced, there is little happening on any issue in terms of public interest and attention even in social media. How many of us has taken the trouble to check if our office building is fire-safe? How many of us have started reporting corruption cases? ...

A few days back I carried out a simple experiment: I asked this question on Quora.com: India: How does corruption impact you as a person? Please be specific - how you have had to pay and for what; perhaps despite not wanting to? What could you have done to stop it and not pay? 3 people went to the trouble of penning their experiences - a grand total of 3, from hundreds of viewers. Wow! I apologise for all my anti-corruption spiel: India does not have corruption of any sort. If people cannot even answer anonymously and state that their have paid a bribe to do "x" work, then obviously there is no corruption in India. If people do not even care to acknowledge in a forum that gives a manner of answering that ensures nothing can be traced to yourself, then either the problem does not exist... or the respondents are a part of the problem. There can be no third reason You can find the time to pen on any number of inconsequential topics, but have nothing to add on this vit...

Lashkar by Mukul Deva - book review » Curious Book Fans : 'via Blog this' Interview with Mukul Deva... "Mukul Deva: And it will not change the aims of Terror Central. Its a multi-headed hydra and will keep adapting to the changing threat. Also the events outlined by me in BLOWBACK and TANZEEM are already happening. Do note that the LeT is already jostling to take on a leadership role in the jihad and will (with help from its ISI masters) take the smaller groups under its umbrella to enhance its clout and operational capability. Not far in the future you will see a lot of the remaining events unfold in the manner described in TANZEEM. Once again, must stress that this is logically the way events would flow UNLESS something really really drastic is done to change things in Pakistan – since that is the epicentre of the global jhad. If things are not taken in hand VERY soon, the Pakistani nukes will fall into the hands of the terror groups. I don’t think I am cryi...

Completing his education from La Martiniere College, Lucknow, the National Defence Academy, Pune, and the Indian Military Academy, Dehra Dun, Mukul was commissioned in the SIKH LIGHT INFANTRY of the Indian Army in 1981. An eventful Army tenure, which included a decade of operational service in India and overseas, ended in an equally remarkable transition when Mukul turned his attention to the corporate battlefield. The result was MSD SECURITY PVT LTD which, in the ensuing decade, grew into a dynamic, professionally managed company.  Another twist in the tale followed when Mukul turned to his first love - writing. The result was a series of books spanning genres as multi-faceted as his personality. Salim Must Die - Mukul Deva This is book 2 in the four-book series... The Characters Iqbal: Once a confused man - he is now clear headed - and out for blood. Revenge... Colonel Anbu: Tough. but humane - as always. And a man who can take tough calls... Brigadier Sal...

I grew up with Enid Blyton, Tintin, Asterix, Phantom and Mandrake... but by the time I reached 9, we had Amar Chitra Katha, which proved to be a trailblazer; Champak and Chacha Chaudhury etc soon became a staple thereafter alongwith ACK. Amar Chitra Katha was the start of my discovery of Indian writing; but somewhere along the line I forgot, and moved back to Robert Ludlum, Alistair Maclean, Erle Stanley Gardner etc - forgetting all about Indian writing. And whenever I was attracted to it, the price tag was prohibitive. It is this very significant change that has altered the scenario to a very great degree . While now the foreign authors are available for 350+, the Indian Authors are available for a much more affordable 120 - 250 max. This is good, and welcome - it gives a much-needed boost to Indian writing.  But the question we need to ask ourselves is whether Indian Authors have reached the same levels displayed by the others? Here is my take on this matter: they a...

Lashkar - Mukul Deva Mukul Deva is a retired Army Officer, a man who has spent 15 years in the Indian Army. He retired as a Major, having spent several years in action as well as counter-insurgency operations in India as well as overseas It is rare that someone who has an inside tack, as well as actual experience in practical operations actually writes a book based on his / her knowledge. Such rare books are to be treasured; they provide authenticity to the story and plot. And this book is this category, like my previous review/s of Ravi Subramanian. And if the Author has a flair for writing... then the book gets elevated to the status of pure class. Again, no complaints on this aspect! The Characters Iqbal - Subah Kaa Bhoolaa Shyaam Ko Kabhi-Kabhaar Laut kar Bhi Aataa Hai... Colonel Rajan Anbu: Humane, but tough. Can take hard decisions - feelings be damned.  Omar: Misguided... Misled...  Brigadier Salim: ISI, Complete Swine, Brutal but sadly highly ...