In October this year we completed ten years of our return to India. Before this I had lived in India only for seven years. My wife and I had long agreed that when I stopped working we would move back to India. We did not consider any other option such as staying on in Hong Kong. Now after a decade, we feel that our life in India has become like the volatile stock market bouncing between hope and despair.
When we came back , India was shining. The BJP had just been voted out and Sonia Gandhi magnanimously handed over the job to Manmohan Singh. We were delighted. After all he had set in motion the liberalization of the economy. As a renowned economist and a honest individual he would not only take the economy to great heights but set an example of a honest, clean government. He was the Prime Minister for two terms but unfortunately instead of scaling great heights, during his second terms he took us to the pits of corruption. While he was universally acknowledged to be personally honest, the same could not be said about the other members of his cabinet. Towards the end , there was a new scam everyday and corruption was rampant. What was depressing was that the amounts were not small. Each of them were in hundreds and thousands of crores and ran across the spectrum of the economy - from telecoms to coal mines, from agriculture to education, from health care to social welfare. It was never ending. Persons involved ranged from politicians to police to businessmen to top government investigators.All the members of the coalition were involved one way or the other. Manmohan Singh put his hands up and said it was the compulsions of the coalition implying that he was held hostage by his partners. When the Prime Minister says that what can the common man expect ? So not surprisingly at election time the Congress suffered a humiliating defeat.
As this was happening there emerged two stars on the horizon both non-members of Delhi's Lutyens Club. One was a seasoned but slightly controversial politicians whose pitch was not necessarily to vote for a BJP government, but for Modi sarkar. The whole campaign was centered around as strong "can do"type leader. The other was a "Jolhe Wala" IIT ex-bureaucrat,NGO activist Arvind Kejriwal.
Modi is the first Chief Minister to become the Prime Minister. He has a track record of building up Gujarat, listening to investors, visiting China, Japan and other countries to see what they were doing right and what could be implemented here. The black mark against him were the riots in Gujarat where hundreds of Muslims were killed. However the courts absolved him. After his elections, he hit the ground running and flying, jetting from one country to another.Unfortunately two of his ambitious plans, the modification of the Land Bill and the passing of the GST bill have run into a road block .The BJP while they have the majority in the Lok Sabha lacks it in the Rajya Sabha. The Congress party "did onto BJP what BJP had done to them "when they were in power. BJP as the main opposition party had blocked the passing of the bills during the previous government. The problem which Modi seems to be having is controlling the fringe elements in his own party. Almost every day someone utters some communal or controversial remark or comment which the media picks up and runs it twenty four seven. Opposition parties lead by the Congress quickly pick these up and use these as a stick to beat up on BJP. It is ironical that Congress party members who were responsible for the well planned killing of the Sikhs following Mrs. Gandhi's death are now trying to walk the moral high ground.
Similarly the other, Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Admi Party after a false start made history by winning almost 97 percent of the Delhi State Assemble seats. Because of the way Delhi is governed the Lt.Governer controls most of the power with Aam Admi having limited ability to implement many of the promises they had made during the campaign. Taking a leaf from Modi's political playbook Aam Admi has been running campaign advertisements extolling the Arvind Kejriwal government.Arvind Kejriwal the activist has morphed into Arvind Kejriwal the politician who is trying to build a party around himself.
What does this all mean for the common man ? Its pretty much business as usual. Corruption is still prevalent. Crime especially against women and increasingly against minors continues. We are seeing no signs of Swatch Bharat. Garbage continues to be piled high. The traffic situation is getting worse.Delhi has been labelled as the most polluted city country in the world.
What does one do ? At the next election who do we vote for ? Of course one always has the option of the none of the above, but that does not help. There are some die hards (and to some extent so am I ) who believe in TINATOM ( There is no alternative to Modi). Look at the other option and with your hand on your hearts ask your self whether you would really want to see any of the opposition leaders as the Prime Minister ?
Apart from the bigger picture what bothers me is the issues we face on a day to day basis and what we see in our interactions.These are just a handful.
1. Over the last ten years I have been repeatedly been ripped off . It is now reaching a stage where I feel that out of every ten people about eight or nine people are dishonest or when ever they deal with you get the feeling that they are thinking "what is in it for me or how do I take advantage of you". Perhaps I am the sucker. I am reminded of the old Greek story about Diogenes the Cynic who walked around Athens during the day with a lamp in his hand " looking for a honest man ".
2. In my dealings with the younger people ( not all ) I am amazed at how they have no qualms in taking oaths on their parents or if married on their children to convince you that they being truthful and then find out that you have fallen for it yet again. The sad part of this as I found out is that their parents participate in their deception, hence it is no wonder that the children see nothing wrong with it. And here I am talking about kids who graduated from some of the prestigious institutions in the country.
3. While the world's perception still continues of India being a poor country seeing the amount of money being spent on property including palatial houses and luxury goods, you are amazed. When we first came back , like all NRI's we felt that we were much better off than the average citizen in Delhi ( among the middle class ) and then were hit by the sticker shock ( of property , of clothes and increasingly for services ). There are a incredible number of people whose net worth is easily way above the equivalent of a hundred million dollars.
4. Initially upon my return whenever I sought an appointment I thought once I fixed a date and time I could just show up. Boy was I wrong. The person concerned was never there . There was always some reason. This was not confined to bureaucrats. Even professionals, handy men or electricians or the local patwaris , it is always "acha muhe yaad kara dena ji" . In today's day and age with almost everyone now having a smart telephone. The onus is on you - I am a important person. If you want to meet me keep reminding me.
5. In my life whenever I am asked a favor , if I can do it I go ahead and do it without any one having to remind me a second time. In India that is a starting point. On an average you would have to follow up with the person (friend or relative is immaterial) at least three times before anything gets done or you just give up in disgust.
6. Everywhere you go there is dirt or garbage. In the area where the " farm houses" worth the equivalent of millions of dollars, the roads are pot holed , drains overflow and stink , but once you drive in you find fancy houses and manicured lawns maintained by an army of servants. If there is a empty lot next door it becomes the dumping ground for your daily garbage. There is no sense of social responsibility.
7. Delhi is now regarded as the most polluted city in the world and while a lot is being said, very little is actually being done.The Courts keep passing judgements as to what should be done, but no one seems to care.
8. The traffic situation in Delhi/Gurgaon is going from bad to worse. What normally takes 30 minutes on a public holiday takes sixty to ninety minutes or longer. Gridlocks are common because we cannot resist the temptation of going on the wrong side (because the right side is blocked) and so the entire traffic is at a standstill.
A couple of weeks ago my wife and I almost got assaulted because a idiot Sardar insisted that we reverse our car to allow him to come forward. We were locked in because there were a row of cars behind us.
9. What can I say about the television media ? The Fox channel was perhaps the role model and our channels built on it ( like we did on the British bureaucracy) . There are a couple of channels where the presenters feel that by screaming their utterances they get more eye balls. Like little puppies they do not let go a piece of news which they find salacious. They run it on a loop twenty four seven. Many times we read or see on BBC that there has been a train crash with 30 people killed or flash floods in Assam where twenty five villages have been washed away, but our channels will focus on local politician shoes being laced up by senior bureaucrats or police officials as that is more news worthy.
However balancing the above there are positive things happening as well.
1. There has been a tremendous amount of development. The average man on the street appears to be much better off , much better dressed and most likely carrying a mobile telephone if not a smart phone.
2. While it is not available all day the the electricity supply is much better off.
3. Slowly but gradually the government department including land registry are all being digitized . Increasingly government related payments can now be made online.
4. Perhaps because of the lack of interference by the government, the technology sector is booming.
5. While still a long way from creating the right environment for all youths to gain employment, graduates are no longer just looking for jobs with multinationals. Their entrepreneurial genes are taking over and an increasingly large number from the top schools are now opting for start up's or setting up their ventures.New ideas and markets are being discovered With help now becoming increasingly difficult to get, now start ups are stepping into the space to provide these services.
6. Huge amount of wealth is being created legally by new ventures and start ups by young people.
I could go on and on but I think it gives you the birds eye view. Being the eternal optimist I still view the glass as being half full ( or that it can be refilled) and am hopeful that by the time my grandchildren grow up India will have entered the ranks of developed countries and most of the problems mentioned above will have disappeared.We just need to have a tall jug to keep refilling the glass of hope.
When we came back , India was shining. The BJP had just been voted out and Sonia Gandhi magnanimously handed over the job to Manmohan Singh. We were delighted. After all he had set in motion the liberalization of the economy. As a renowned economist and a honest individual he would not only take the economy to great heights but set an example of a honest, clean government. He was the Prime Minister for two terms but unfortunately instead of scaling great heights, during his second terms he took us to the pits of corruption. While he was universally acknowledged to be personally honest, the same could not be said about the other members of his cabinet. Towards the end , there was a new scam everyday and corruption was rampant. What was depressing was that the amounts were not small. Each of them were in hundreds and thousands of crores and ran across the spectrum of the economy - from telecoms to coal mines, from agriculture to education, from health care to social welfare. It was never ending. Persons involved ranged from politicians to police to businessmen to top government investigators.All the members of the coalition were involved one way or the other. Manmohan Singh put his hands up and said it was the compulsions of the coalition implying that he was held hostage by his partners. When the Prime Minister says that what can the common man expect ? So not surprisingly at election time the Congress suffered a humiliating defeat.
As this was happening there emerged two stars on the horizon both non-members of Delhi's Lutyens Club. One was a seasoned but slightly controversial politicians whose pitch was not necessarily to vote for a BJP government, but for Modi sarkar. The whole campaign was centered around as strong "can do"type leader. The other was a "Jolhe Wala" IIT ex-bureaucrat,NGO activist Arvind Kejriwal.
Modi is the first Chief Minister to become the Prime Minister. He has a track record of building up Gujarat, listening to investors, visiting China, Japan and other countries to see what they were doing right and what could be implemented here. The black mark against him were the riots in Gujarat where hundreds of Muslims were killed. However the courts absolved him. After his elections, he hit the ground running and flying, jetting from one country to another.Unfortunately two of his ambitious plans, the modification of the Land Bill and the passing of the GST bill have run into a road block .The BJP while they have the majority in the Lok Sabha lacks it in the Rajya Sabha. The Congress party "did onto BJP what BJP had done to them "when they were in power. BJP as the main opposition party had blocked the passing of the bills during the previous government. The problem which Modi seems to be having is controlling the fringe elements in his own party. Almost every day someone utters some communal or controversial remark or comment which the media picks up and runs it twenty four seven. Opposition parties lead by the Congress quickly pick these up and use these as a stick to beat up on BJP. It is ironical that Congress party members who were responsible for the well planned killing of the Sikhs following Mrs. Gandhi's death are now trying to walk the moral high ground.
Similarly the other, Arvind Kejriwal of the Aam Admi Party after a false start made history by winning almost 97 percent of the Delhi State Assemble seats. Because of the way Delhi is governed the Lt.Governer controls most of the power with Aam Admi having limited ability to implement many of the promises they had made during the campaign. Taking a leaf from Modi's political playbook Aam Admi has been running campaign advertisements extolling the Arvind Kejriwal government.Arvind Kejriwal the activist has morphed into Arvind Kejriwal the politician who is trying to build a party around himself.
What does this all mean for the common man ? Its pretty much business as usual. Corruption is still prevalent. Crime especially against women and increasingly against minors continues. We are seeing no signs of Swatch Bharat. Garbage continues to be piled high. The traffic situation is getting worse.Delhi has been labelled as the most polluted city country in the world.
What does one do ? At the next election who do we vote for ? Of course one always has the option of the none of the above, but that does not help. There are some die hards (and to some extent so am I ) who believe in TINATOM ( There is no alternative to Modi). Look at the other option and with your hand on your hearts ask your self whether you would really want to see any of the opposition leaders as the Prime Minister ?
Apart from the bigger picture what bothers me is the issues we face on a day to day basis and what we see in our interactions.These are just a handful.
1. Over the last ten years I have been repeatedly been ripped off . It is now reaching a stage where I feel that out of every ten people about eight or nine people are dishonest or when ever they deal with you get the feeling that they are thinking "what is in it for me or how do I take advantage of you". Perhaps I am the sucker. I am reminded of the old Greek story about Diogenes the Cynic who walked around Athens during the day with a lamp in his hand " looking for a honest man ".
2. In my dealings with the younger people ( not all ) I am amazed at how they have no qualms in taking oaths on their parents or if married on their children to convince you that they being truthful and then find out that you have fallen for it yet again. The sad part of this as I found out is that their parents participate in their deception, hence it is no wonder that the children see nothing wrong with it. And here I am talking about kids who graduated from some of the prestigious institutions in the country.
3. While the world's perception still continues of India being a poor country seeing the amount of money being spent on property including palatial houses and luxury goods, you are amazed. When we first came back , like all NRI's we felt that we were much better off than the average citizen in Delhi ( among the middle class ) and then were hit by the sticker shock ( of property , of clothes and increasingly for services ). There are a incredible number of people whose net worth is easily way above the equivalent of a hundred million dollars.
4. Initially upon my return whenever I sought an appointment I thought once I fixed a date and time I could just show up. Boy was I wrong. The person concerned was never there . There was always some reason. This was not confined to bureaucrats. Even professionals, handy men or electricians or the local patwaris , it is always "acha muhe yaad kara dena ji" . In today's day and age with almost everyone now having a smart telephone. The onus is on you - I am a important person. If you want to meet me keep reminding me.
5. In my life whenever I am asked a favor , if I can do it I go ahead and do it without any one having to remind me a second time. In India that is a starting point. On an average you would have to follow up with the person (friend or relative is immaterial) at least three times before anything gets done or you just give up in disgust.
6. Everywhere you go there is dirt or garbage. In the area where the " farm houses" worth the equivalent of millions of dollars, the roads are pot holed , drains overflow and stink , but once you drive in you find fancy houses and manicured lawns maintained by an army of servants. If there is a empty lot next door it becomes the dumping ground for your daily garbage. There is no sense of social responsibility.
7. Delhi is now regarded as the most polluted city in the world and while a lot is being said, very little is actually being done.The Courts keep passing judgements as to what should be done, but no one seems to care.
8. The traffic situation in Delhi/Gurgaon is going from bad to worse. What normally takes 30 minutes on a public holiday takes sixty to ninety minutes or longer. Gridlocks are common because we cannot resist the temptation of going on the wrong side (because the right side is blocked) and so the entire traffic is at a standstill.
A couple of weeks ago my wife and I almost got assaulted because a idiot Sardar insisted that we reverse our car to allow him to come forward. We were locked in because there were a row of cars behind us.
9. What can I say about the television media ? The Fox channel was perhaps the role model and our channels built on it ( like we did on the British bureaucracy) . There are a couple of channels where the presenters feel that by screaming their utterances they get more eye balls. Like little puppies they do not let go a piece of news which they find salacious. They run it on a loop twenty four seven. Many times we read or see on BBC that there has been a train crash with 30 people killed or flash floods in Assam where twenty five villages have been washed away, but our channels will focus on local politician shoes being laced up by senior bureaucrats or police officials as that is more news worthy.
However balancing the above there are positive things happening as well.
1. There has been a tremendous amount of development. The average man on the street appears to be much better off , much better dressed and most likely carrying a mobile telephone if not a smart phone.
2. While it is not available all day the the electricity supply is much better off.
3. Slowly but gradually the government department including land registry are all being digitized . Increasingly government related payments can now be made online.
4. Perhaps because of the lack of interference by the government, the technology sector is booming.
5. While still a long way from creating the right environment for all youths to gain employment, graduates are no longer just looking for jobs with multinationals. Their entrepreneurial genes are taking over and an increasingly large number from the top schools are now opting for start up's or setting up their ventures.New ideas and markets are being discovered With help now becoming increasingly difficult to get, now start ups are stepping into the space to provide these services.
6. Huge amount of wealth is being created legally by new ventures and start ups by young people.
I could go on and on but I think it gives you the birds eye view. Being the eternal optimist I still view the glass as being half full ( or that it can be refilled) and am hopeful that by the time my grandchildren grow up India will have entered the ranks of developed countries and most of the problems mentioned above will have disappeared.We just need to have a tall jug to keep refilling the glass of hope.
