First they ignore you...

How can I be the only one not to comment on the ongoing Lokpal agitation? :) So here's my two cents' worth.

There has been some discussion on the crowds that have been gathering at Ramlila Maidan (RM) with P K Bansal and Ashwani Kumar from the Congress commenting that anybody can draw large crowds. This has obviously led to some strong responses too. Now let us pause here for a moment. 

When I saw a movie called Tagore in Telugu, starring Chiranjeevi, I was taken aback at the crowds that gathered towards the climax of the movie. Probably it was crowds like these that encouraged Chiranjeevi to set up his party and contest elections. But he ended up losing from one of the two constituencies he had stood for election from. So the crowds do not seem to have necessarily translated into votes. 

So I think we can safely assume that the crowds that gather to see a filmstar politician are there more to see the filmstar than anything else. The non-beneficial crowd is especially true in political settings where people can be paid to attend. Another incident is the support that Jagan is garnering in Andhra Pradesh. This is somewhat surprising. Whether or not people believe he is corrupt I am sure many people would agree there is more than what meets the eye as far as Jagan's wealth is concerned. He has of late taken to sending bulk messages to Church Fathers asking them to pray on their behalf, pandering to the Christian community too. So is Jagan right as he draws such huge crowds (not to mention the margin by which he and his mother won their elections)?

Where the Jan Lokpal campaign is different, I would argue is with respect to the increasing and (inter)national participation it is drawing. Crowds for 1-2 days may have been dismissed. However the crowds are only increasing day-by-day. Further, people cutting across states (though I think the response has been quite muted in the south) and even continents are supporting the agitation. The response of the powers-that-be in a way betrays their panic at the response the movement has gathered. It is simply arrogant to dismiss the crowds that have gathered.

However the establishment is right to an extent in asking Anna's team to follow established democratic procedures. I say to an extent. This legislation has been pending for a very long time, further as everyone is aware new cases keep tumbling out on a regular basis today. So the citizens of the country cannot be blamed for a trust deficit. Anna's team has shown some flexibility during negotiations for the duration and venue of the present fast. If the same can be shown and if the government lets go of its arrogance we can hope for a better India. 

To end, I quote a line attributed to Anna's idol - First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win. Should the government note the pattern? Jai Hind!

Black Money at the Top?

Everyone must have heard about the arguments happening with respect to including the PM in the ambit of the Lokpal Bill. I recently came across an interesting article. This was in German and seems to be an article from 1991. What it seems to say is that Rajiv Gandhi had CHF 2.5 billion (Swiss Francs) in secret accounts. 

As per the current exchange rates this translates to more than INR 125 billion (12500 crores). Now I do not know if this is true or false. If it is true I wonder how Rajiv Gandhi was came to possess so much money. Rajiv Gandhi was our PM and hence this is about the prestige of the country too. If the report is untrue the Indian National Congress can probably think about filing a defamation case. 

Anyway, politics does not seem to be a bad career option at all!

On the Bhushan tapes

Shanti and Prashant Bhushan are in the news for the wrong reason of late. The elder Bhushan has been "caught" on tape saying his son can fix a case with a judge. Apparently different labs are giving conflicting reports. There are two questions that come to my mind.

1) The government was in the news, again for the wrong reason of tapping phones some time back. So does the CD contain voice samples that were somehow obtained by the government by surreptitious means?

2) I wonder if it is possible to fake the CD. First you splice the individual samples together giving the appearance of a continuous conversation. This can probably be detected by forensic labs. Now if you play this "conversation" via a high audio fidelity device and record it onto a different tape/CD can a forensic lab detect this?

The Moon and His Star

Once upon a time long long ago
and trust me, it happened so
a lovely star the moon beheld,
and felt he like a big oak felled

the star too was smitten by love,
for at work was cupid's bow
many an hour, together they spent
on that lovely night, deep and silent

soon the star saw the morning glow
and she let the moon's hand go
his glare frightens me, she said
and though in love, she fled

every night, although in vain
the moon did tell her of his pain
of no avail was his pleading
though both their hearts were bleeding

the sun will be back, all fire and show
said the star and kept lying low
but so would the moon all cool and nice
little, this did the star realize

Religion and Real Estate

Recently an apparently illegally constructed mosque was demolished in Delhi after which hundreds of people conducted prayers there led by the Shahi Imam of the Jama Masjid. There are multiple issues that came to my mind from this article. 

The Shahi Imam says two things - that the land was actually owned by the Wakf Board and that he was promised the land would be purchased and given to the Wakf Board to reconstruct the mosque. Who will pay for the land to be given to the Wakf Board? The mosque was demolished on the orders of a court. Is the promise not in contempt of the orders of the court? This raises a larger question. Forget religion, will a place of worship be allowed to hijack public convenience? Obviously, a structure cannot be demolished purely on the basis of public convenience, but a line should be drawn somewhere. The general citizens should also realize when vested interests are at play and when there is a genuine case.

Asset Building

The Government says that Nira Radia built up an empire of 900 crores in a short period of 9 years. Hence she was investigated.

As per a magazine article, Jagan Reddy has done a similar thing in probably an even shorter time. Raja's company has gone to become a 600 crore company from one crore I believe. What about them? Some time back, before the Karnataka Assembly elections, NDTV showed the rise in income of politicians over a few years. The appreciation of a few was over 1000%! Are they being investigated? Can you throw stones at somebody if you are living in a glass house?

India's Cash Economy?

There was a quote in a recent edition of Business Today by Ajay Banga, Head of Mastercard in India. He says that Indians prefer dealing in cash. They do not like electronic money as it can mean monitoring by the IT people. Now, I think I have said this before also, but I will say it again. Probably everyone who pays tax grumbles about it. Add to that the misuse of the public's money and one's blood really boils. 

Mayawati's statue-building spree immediately comes to mind. The CPM government in West Bengal has renamed the New Town area as Jyoti Basu Nagar. It is probably set to install a number of statues of him also. I would be happier if the government instead spent the money on hiring more people for the metro's construction and then named the metro after Jyoti Basu (I know, construction happens through tenders, blah blah, but I can hope). Also, every time I pay sales tax I am adding to the state government's kitty, so I should have a say in state finances also!

Today, I don't think there is a really effective way of registering protesting against misuse of public funds. One can always approach the courts, but what the outcome would be is something that is highly questionable. But sigh, what can be done?