New India - New Politics

Hi All,
I've recently being reading Shiv Khera's "Freedom is Not Free". And that has prompted me to write this blog... a thought that had been in my head for a few years now...
Prelude:

• If you are an Indian Citizen and you are proud of it, then this blog is a MUST READ for you
• This might be a long and boring blog, but still, one way of expressing your patriotism to Mother India is by reading through this blog and reverting with your comments.
• After reading, some might feel this is good, some might feel it is waste of time, or some might even feel this is a good material for a Flop Film... whatever it is, please vent out your feelings - by writing comments... no harm!
• I still feel a pen is the mightiest weapon of all times... if you share my thought, then I sincerely wish to read your comments!
• I do not intend to hurt the sentiments of anyone through this blog. If I've done so, I'd learn it from your comments...

Topic on Hand: Politics, Corruption, Morale and Renaissance - What's the soft link?

The biggest problem for India Inc from moving forward is not outside the country, but it is within... Corruption is the buzz word, for all wrong reasons. If you think I am exaggerating, then you should read daily news articles on Corruption and how India is failing miserably in Global Fronts due to Corruption.

The biggest problem here is, public has (almost) lost its trust on the Politics Machinery, that is (supposed to be) the ultimate People Power in curbing Corruption. The allegation, that Politics is fuelling Corruption need not be discounted as ‘untrue’ anymore!

This results in a huge slump in the Morale of the Indian Citizen. Indians are no more proud of being Indians, but they are rather ashamed on a Global Arena. If you think I am exaggerating again, please look at the symptoms: Brain Drain is the best feeler on hand… how many news articles do we read in a week, telling how an Indian Scientist is achieving laurels in some foreign land? Why? Isn’t he or she supposed to achieve all these at India? Why did such brainy people run away? Another example – how many of us are scared of Police and Government Offices? Do we hold respect for them anymore? Let us be truthful in this – what society is this, that doesn’t give a sense of security, pride and belongingness to its own citizens. Isn’t this an indicator of Slump in Morale?

This results in two types of people finally – one who can’t take it anymore, and leave the land for their own good. The second type is the helpless mass that sits and aspires for a Renaissance. There is of course, a third mass, which tries to do something about this menace and end up, rather perish in a big failure. The message the “stronger” class leaves to the “weaker” class is – become a part of the system or go out of the system.

The last few paragraphs have drawn the thin line that connects Corruption, Politics, Morale and Renaissance. But, Renaissance? If renaissance is the only way to boost the Morale of India Inc, then we have no other option than to go through the same chain – in the REVERSE DIRECTION. Yes… Use Politics to Kill Corruption. There are several ways proposed to fight corruption… so many feature films have come out with all these ideas. Let me add one more to this list… but I intend to use Politics as the tool. Just imagine… if the following chain of event happen:

1. A really new face – who is bold but famous amidst masses – is needed to start the experiment. Just imagine a person like RK Misra (winner of Lead India).
2. This person starts a Political Party – I can hear you sigh – but a different one.
3. The party would be functioning like a Professional Organization. It would collect funds from public, have transparent accounts, “recruit” people as its workers and representatives, has fixed project plans WITH timelines and conduct regular reviews with people – this sounds impractical? Let us get into the details
4. The party gets registered as a national party. For anyone to become a Party Representative he or she needs to be a Member. For becoming a member, one should have some basic qualifications. He or she must be a citizen of India, an education of at least +2 or equivalent and no past criminal record.
5. Now, what is the difference between a Member and a Representative? A member is a basic entity of the party but a representative is a member who represents the party in various Public Forums. This includes, but not limits to, the Legislature.
6. For a Member to get promoted as a Representative, the requirements are different. The educational qualification: The candidate must be a graduate or above. Preference would be given to Graduates who have specialized in Social Works. Apart from these, we expect some qualitative abilities or skill-sets for Representatives. To assess these, there will be a written test. The member must first clear this test. Once done, the Party Board will interview the candidate to assess the attitude and skills. Based on these, the member will be recruited into the board of Representatives. These will be the people who will be the face of the Party.
7. The party will also have an agenda. Well, each party has one, so what’s the difference? A Mission (long-term) and an operational Action Plan at the short term. Both will have TIMELINES. Some parties already have these, so what is the difference?
8. The difference is in the Accountability. The Mission is for the Party, and each line-item of the Action Plan (which would be a break-up to achieve the mission) is pointed towards one or more Party Representatives. If the action plan is not achieved in the stipulated timeline, the Representative will have to QUIT.
9. If the party fails to reach the mission, the Party QUITS!!!
10. Now, with these two weapons (mission and its action plan), the Representatives of the Party go to the Public. They will be backed up by the Members of the Party. The party will seek support from Media to reach the Public more effectively. The objective, or the crux, of the First Mission would be to eradicate Corruption at ALL LEVELS of the society.
11. I am taking a risky assumption here: the Representatives of the Party will get a positive acceptance from the Public. They win in Elections and are in control of the Legislature.
12. Thereafter, each Representative will work on executing the Action Plan. There will be Monthly Reviews of the Action Plan – and this will happen in front of the Public – where anyone can raise questions / give suggestions on any of the work plan in progress.
13. At the end of a year, if a Representative fails to meet his Action Plans – for ANY REASON – then he keeps up his promise and QUITS.
14. The same is the case for the Party. If the Party fails to keep up the Mission, then it will keep up the promise – the Party is dissolved.
15. Each Representative of the Party would declare his Net Worth in Public before and after his tenure and provide proof of income voluntarily. This would be a part of the Annual Review exercise.

This sounds very simple, but requires a loooooot of efforts and GUTS to make something like this happen.

Now, will something like this happen? Would it ever be possible to run a party like a professional organization, with full transparency? A Zillion Dollar Question…

Do write back your comments… whatever you feel…

Hoping to see a corruption-free India soon…

Regards,
SKB

Ideas for a Sweeter Bangalore

Hi All,

Most of you reading this blog know me. For the others: I am a Tam, and am staying in Bangalore for some 4 years now. I've made a lot of Kannadiga friends, and have also started to talk broken Kannada (friends often get pissed off by the way I speak Kannada, but nevertheless, I keep trying)

I've now become such a close part of Bangalore, that I have started to dream ways of making my city sweeter. Still, I confess, I do not have the guts to go out and publicly profess my ideas... I feel that I am too small for Lead India!
What are the pain points of Bangalore? There are quite a few. For me, it looks like transport... The moment we think of public transportation, we get mixed reactions from Bangaloreans. Volvos are commendable, sure. Err... Did I hear anyone shouting Auto? We can comfortably say 90% of people who have commuted in Autorickshaws have got grudges and complaints. Call Taxis are good, but still, they are far from being organized.

This reminds me of what my sister says about Singapore. I've never visited any place outside India, so I do not have any ways to ascertain these: In Singapore, they have a simple card system, using which you can use any of the public commuting system, like Cabs, Trains Buses etc. With this in mind, what if we have a model like this:

Project Eco Cabs - Highlights

• A fleet of 10 Reva Cars and 10 Tata Nanos (Gas Fitted)
• This will be called the Green Fleet of Eco Cabs.
• We will have a website for booking cabs. To start with the service will be from and to limited locations, and soon will be expanded
• This site will also allow the user to opt for car pooling and its preferences - This idea is copied from already existing car pooling sites
• Users will be encouraged to buy priviledge swipe cards that can be recharged on regular basis.
• Inside the car: the vehicle will be equiped with a special meter... this will take inputs like Payment Mode, A/C Preference etc.
• Based on selections, fare will be altered. For payment through cash, there will be a premium. Users paying through their Premium Eco Cabs card will get lesser fares. Car Poolers will get incentives. Facility will be provided to pay through Credit and Debit Cards too.
• The cab drivers will be neatly dressed in sleek looking uniforms and will carry ID Cards. The pride of Bangalore is the multi-lingual capabilities of its citizens. We'll also hire cabbies who can speak English and Hindi apart from Kannada.
• Passengers travelling using Priviledge Cards and / or travelling based on online booking will get special benefits. Further, whenever they avail of the service, the website will maintain a log of cab in which travel is being done. This will help tracking and ensure safety of passengers.

This service can be provided at a fare level above call taxis and I bet the Bangalorean citizens will still love utilizing this service.

Now, I've done with jotting down my dream. I know that this project will need a loooot of planning and care to details. I also know that even if I want to take it forward, I will not have the financial teeth to do so. So, if any broad minded individual wants to take up this commercially viable project, well, please go ahead! I will not claim any rights of ideas!!! Instead, I promise to provide all kinds of help you would require from me.

You are also welcome to revert back with other "Pain Points" of bangalore. We can jointly dream of possible ways of solving them.

At this point, I would like to point to one of Shiv Khera's book "Freedom is Not Free". In this book at one of the places, he has spoken about an incident that happened in Singapore: He takes a cab to go to a location. The cabbie does not know the last lane so he goes around, and somehow manages to take him to the right doors. Now the meter shows $11. When he gives the money, the cabbie returns a dollar back and says, it was his mistake due to which the extra $1 came, so it need not be paid. Shiv simply puts that the Cabbies are the "diplomat of the state", or representatives of the state to the outsider. An outsider gets the impression of a state only by people like the cabbie. So, a person like a cabbie must take pride of what he is worth in giving pride to country and not advantage of what his "customer" is worth being sucked off from.

This idea, I bet, will suit not only Bangalore, but any other city with decently large population utilizing public transport means. Thanks for patient reading. Looking forward to hear from you.

Regards,
SKB.

Trust, questioned...

You have every rights to question true love... but only once.
Once trusted, never question it...
'Coz doing so, is breach of trust, and trust once broken cannot be pasted back...

What Pains?

It hurts if you are not understood by the one you love...
But Still,
Not being understood is far better than being misunderstood
It pains...