Reflections

Today is Dussehra : The day we commemorate the victory of good over bad, of good over evil; in keeping with the spirit of this Holy Day, let me revisit that period when we Indians won over the Evil Raj; our own modern Victory of Good over Evil. Let me try once again to deal with the rising anti-Gandhi diatribe on social media, and place before my readers a record of why The Mahatma has primacy over most others; at the same time, let me acknowledge that it is not my contention that The Mahatma is the only reason, as will be evident from my article below. It  is sad to see such questions; this is more a reflection of the abysmal state of history education in our schools than a comment on the people at large. While But this is one question that requires a proper, informed and relatively unbiased answer, based not on internet  articles or opinion, but on solid verifiable historical evidence taken from standard and pedigreed books. This article  is basis some 28+ books on Indian His

We need reservations because of the history of inequality and injustice that has preceded our current generations, for at least the past 200 years, if not more. That requires some rebalancing. Further, there are some areas in India where discrimination was practiced; if some reports are to be believed, pockets still exist. Until our society grows out of this scourge, we have little choice. The question is : why compromise on quality? Why cant we stress both reservation and quality, impractical though it may sound? Note : :: The earlier casteism was softer, and did not acquire its present shape then. It was entrenched in a system of hereditary vocations, with relevant skills for each vocation being passed from generation to generation. This built deep intra-caste relationships and inter-caste dependencies, based not on oppression but on a workable and eminently but brutally efficient methodology, that rivals and beats any and every modern system with a modicum of eas

In the previous article { Make In India } , I introduced a look  at Make In India’s loopholes – not from the GOI, but from we the people.  Therein, I had concluded, We, the people, just don’t seem to care about these basics. Quite frankly, we just don’t care. While the chosen words are a bit strong, the fact remains that corruption - unless it is tackled, MII will remain a pipe dream. By the same token, unless administrative reforms are taken up, MII will remain a pipe dream. Take a small example. I have consistently referred to RBI report on the states finances; the report of 13-14 clearly identifies good movements in state budgets, with increasing responsible states. But the very same report makes a  certain observation of off-budget expenses and their possibility of presence, as also highlights the laggard states and their irresponsible behaviour. The report of 14-15 once again clarifies the vast gulf between the various states. The differences in the state of finances in th

Make In India is, and has been for a while now, the buzzword and the favourite of the Media and the educated public alike; little space has been shared for the realities, or what precisely MII entails. It almost sounds like a new dawn of manufacturing, with   the excitement and the euphoria this slogan has generated. That by itself is most welcome; if people in India are gung-ho about manufacturing, that is indeed welcome, and helps to seed entrepreneurial spirit. The problem is the word Euphoria; excitement is needed, and a catalyst, and perhaps what the Government desires. The difficulty is the needless Euphoria around this term, which is almost a halo now. It almost sounds as if we have no manufacturing at all! We are ALREADY making in India, thank you very much. The challenge isnt Make In India : it is Create The Proper Conditions For Make Much More In India! Take the Auto Compenents Sector, for example. It is dominated by the Small and Medium Companies, some - indeed