Quote

Liked the quote...so punched it here...


Always do sober, what you can do drunk.
That will help you keep your mouth shut.
-- Ernest Hemingway

Happy Diwali Captain Vaibhav Gupta

It’s been a great Diwali having spent it with my parents after almost 7 years! It was also supposed to be a family holiday with my younger brother also coming home. He is a Captain in the Indian Army currently posted somewhere in J&K.

Diwali was on 26^th and he had come to Delhi on 15^th for a one month long annual leave. On 16^th October (his birthday for which my parents had made some plans), he got a call from his unit in the morning asking him to rejoin since his holiday had been cancelled. By evening, he had left. Me and my wife reached Delhi on 22^nd as scheduled only to find that he had gone to some secluded position high up in the Himalayas where even mobile connectivity is absent. Its two days after Diwali and he continues to be there.

On the 26^th, he made a call to us for a minute from a wireless system and I asked what he was doing up there…at temperatures even below minus 20 degree Celsius…and his reply was “Protecting you”. While politicians debate on the relevance of ASFPA, has anyone really thought about the army men who are getting affected by this act? Just like my brother who makes me proud (I actually feel blood rushing through me at double speed when I think of him) there are thousands of soldiers who would give anything to spend time with families at least on festivals. It’s the threats that lurk on our borders and even inside our country which prevents this.

This post dedicated to my brother who is giving everything just to make sure that we enjoy our festivals.

Jai Hind!

Water Mining – Making money out of nothing!

One glance on the roads of Bangalore at any time during the day or the night and you will not miss the tankers carrying water around. So I decided that coming back from this hiatus, they seem to be what I should put a post on…

Selling water is a good business in this city. All you need is a bore-well which costs around Rs.1 lakh including the money that you give (illegal of course) to various government departments. According to a leading daily, 40 borewells are dug in this city everyday! That is one number which is hard to digest for a state which has scarcity of water…. Back to the business, you can hire 2-3 water tankers by paying around Rs.1000 per day to the owner. The rest of the costs go as below:

Daily costs per tanker:

Tanker Hire charges	Rs.1000
Driver Commission	Rs.500
Assistant Commission	Rs.200
Diesel	Rs.1000
Electricity cost (per day per tanker)	Rs.500
Total Cost per day	Rs.3,200

Truthfully, there are no other costs on a monthly basis because tanker maintenance is done by the owner of the tanker. If working 25 days per month, this translates to a total cost of Rs.80,000 per tanker per month.

Now lets talk about the sales. Typically, a tanker does around 10 rounds to predestined places everyday. One tanker of water costs around Rs.500 (can go up in case of scarcity but never comes below this). So that means a daily sale of Rs.5000 per day or Rs.1,25,000 per month translating to a profit of Rs.45,000 per month per tanker for a borewell owner. Have around 3 such tankers working for you (that’s the average that I have seen) and you are making a cool Rs.1.5 lakhs per month (or around $3,300 per month) at a total investment of Rs.1 lakh and you are doing nothing! Call any of these water businesses and you will most probably reach a lady in a house who will only take a message or address if you want water somewhere.

Understanding the business, now to the point I am trying to make. Water is a natural resource and just like any other natural resource (except sun and wind) it is bound to deplete unless measures are taken to ensure conservation. None of these businesses that I have spoken about above pay any taxes on the profits they make. Officially, for the government, they don’t exist! (Obviously a typical BBMP official or Water Board official here pays a bribe of few lakhs to get a juicy posting and they will make a lot more money than that.) And the density of these businesses is few ten’s in every square kilometre if the city.

While our governments are trying to regulate everything under the sun, what I believe that they need to regulate is this mushrooming market of illegal water mining which is depleting us of much more than we can comprehend. Start putting a mining royalty on each of these businesses and possibly regulate the upward price movements so that consumers are not hit to the extent since profits are anyway being made in good measure.

Use the royalty money to implement water conservation schemes across the city to ensure that while we use water which is required, we don’t start missing it after few years.

Anyone listening?

Fuel Hike – Oh Hell!

“Come fast. We have a flight to catch.” screamed Savita at the top of her lungs. “They say women take time. They have to see this brother of mine. Come you idiot. I am going to the car.”

“Its you who want to go, remember.” Came the mocking reply. “Obviously you will be ready.”

Savita and Ravi were 18 year old twins but no one in their right mind will place them in the same room for more than a few minutes without expecting some nuclear explosions. This was the trip their dad had organized for the annual shopping festival in Dubai. Savita had been listing down all the things she wanted to buy from there while Ravi only wanted the latest PS and probably the I-Pad both of which did not require much “shopping”. His requests to go to Australia had been turned down without a second thought.

“Remember we went to London last year. It had ‘Ravi’ written all over. Can’t we go to one place where I want to go?”

“What about Italy the year before? Why does a single girl want to go on a romantic destination anyway? Do it after your marriage.”

“That will be Rs.750 sir.” The cab driver just wanted to get away from this bickering duo.

“750! You must be crazy! We came to the airport just last month and it was just 600 bucks!”

“The prices have increased twice in this time ma’am.”

“Another fuel hike!” groaned Ravi. “I cannot afford this from my meagre pocket money. Dad has to send us more money. Call it the inflation allowance or something. What say Savitri?”

“Call me that name once more and I will use my pocket money to hire a killer to kill you. And yes, you are right. We should join Anna Hazare and go on a hunger strike till we get more pocket money.”

“Or I have a brilliant idea. Lets buy one of those hybrids which works on battery and uses hardly any fuel. No fuel, no fuel hike botheration!”

“Wah! My brother! And how much does this hybrid cost? Wait. Don’t tell me. 20 lakhs? You think dad will give you the money? And I need my own car so just double the amount.”

“You have some other brainwave, you brainless moron? At least I gave one idea.”

“Hmmm. I will ask some questions and you answer them. Ok?”

“Asking questions! Ok….go ahead.”

“Why do we need petrol?”

“To fill our cars. What kind of question is that?”

“Shut up and answer. Why do we need to fill our cars?”

“To go to college or hang out.”

“What do you do in college?”

“Mostly time pass or carry on to a mall or something.”

“Why?”

“To hang out…were you not listening?”

“So you fill up your car, take it to college and then hang out in the mall where you will anyway go if their was no college also?”

“Yep…I guess that’s correct.”

“So why not just live in the mall? Lets buy the mall!”

“Yeah! Or just keep buying  a new Fiat and make use of the fuel vouchers that come with the car! Better, you may even get an upgrade! You are going crazy, you know that na?”

“Ok, what if I say that I the reason I wanted to go to Dubai was not shopping?”

“Huhhhhh!!!!! Where did Dubai come into the picture?”

“Hey! Its where all the oil tycoons live right? I will just marry one of them and be immune to any oil price hikes for the rest of my life! You think of what you will do!”

“I am calling dad and telling him that his daughter is going crazy. I actually hope that you do get married in Dubai. I will be rid of you FOREVER! Now that is a riddance much better than the fuel hike!”

“Mr.Ravi Verma, I will kill you. Wait….no. I will give you a slow death by staying right here and to hell with the fuel prices.”

Independence day....

It was a big day for 90 year old Dr.Lakshman Sharma. It was a day he had dreamt about almost every day for the last so many years. Neither his wife, now long gone, nor any of his 4 children or 11 grandchildren ever understood why the well educated PhD from Meerut could want to do something so seemingly ridiculous. None of them could understand that amidst all the tensions of being a 20 year old in the India that wanted but could not be, young boys dreaming together about a free country amidst nature had been one of the best things to have happened to him.

 Gaurav, one of his grandsons who was working for a big MNC in Bangalore had invited him to stay for few days with him and his wife, Rashmi. The frail Dr.Lakshman had grabbed this one chance he got with both his hands and took the next flight out of Delhi. Gaurav and Rashmi were thrilled to receive him at the airport and he drove with them in their American Ford back to the well built multi-storeyed apartment that they had bought in the city. Gaurav knew of his grandfather’s longing to visit Brindavan Gardens, and today they were going to drive to the beautiful gardens.

Lakshman had been to these gardens once before. It was November of 1942 and Lakshman and his best friend Ramesh had been invited over to Mysore by Raghu who had met Ramesh through some family friends. The two 20 year olds had gladly taken 4 days via trains to reach Mysore and escape the unrelenting winters of the North and the scalding heat of the Quit India Movement which had the entire North simmering. One beautiful evening, Raghu took them both to the newly laid out Brindavan Gardens where they met up with some of Raghu’s friends and sat down to talk.

“Wow, you must be enjoying watching all those Britishers hopping around all scared!” said Manju, a 22 year old.

“What is the difference between the North and the South anyways?” This query from the 17 year old Senthil who was hoping that we will take him to Meerut with us. He had been a small kid during Meerut Conspiracy and felt the city was a Mecca.

“When do you think will we become Independent Lakshman?” Raghu intervened.

Dr.Lakshman could not help smiling as he fixed his freshly washed Nehru topi getting ready for the ride to the gardens. The entire evening of 69 years back was as fresh in his memory as if it was yesterday.

“If things go right, we should throw these Europeans out within 1 year.” Lakshman had replied bringing a smile on the 5 young faces who had only heard about the heaven called Freedom but had no idea what it meant.

“And what then?” Senthil again.

“We will be free! Free to go anywhere, free to talk about anything, free to do anything! That will be so Good!” Ramesh was almost flying in ecstasy as he replied. Another small lull as they all thought over the meaning again.

It was time to go and Dr.Lakshman’s heart was pounding as would a 20 year olds. “Gaurav has told me all about your dream to visit the place dadaji.” Rashmi was a good bahu. “He said how you used to make them sit and listen to all your discussions there.” “Let’s go dadaji,” Gaurav was picking up the car keys and heading for the lift. Dr.Lakshman reached the lift before his grandson making Rashmi smile. The lift got stuck on the way down.

“These Indian companies don’t know how to make things. An American lift will never stick like this. Now we need to wait for 15 minutes while someone comes to help us.” Gaurav’s statement was sad for Dr.Sharma. He remembered how he had enjoyed throwing everything foreign into the fire when he was a small kid and had hoped that one day, they will be proud to use Indian things.

“I will open my own car company.” Raghu was from a better family. “Once we are free, I will make good cars which Indians will be happy to drive. No Fords for us.”

“And who will give you the technology to make one?”

“Once our resources are our own, we can develop our own technology. We are no fools. It will take time but so what?”

“And the permission to make a company?”

“We will be free! What permission?”

The lift started and they reached the basement. Gaurav opened the door for his grandfather and they all started on the 3 hours drive to Brindavan Gardens. The plan was to stay in Mysore in the night and visit Mysore palace next morning along with a couple of other places and come back. Dr.Lakshman had no interest in all those.

Senthil interjected “I will become a policeman. And I will not harass anyone like they do now.”

“They don’t do it on purpose Senthil. Its just the Britishers that make them use force”

“So I will not use any.”

“Senthil, get some real work. Once we are free, why will we need the police in the first place?” laughed Manju.

“Dadaji, you should stay in Bangalore. Its great with such good weather. Delhi has nothing now.” Gaurav got Dr.Lakshman back to the present.

“Why don’t you two shift to Delhi? You will have the full family there.”

“Its so unsafe dadaji. Specially for women. Just yesterday, a close friend of mine was crying on the phone while speaking with me because she had been really badly mistreated by some co-passengers in the Metro. And that too in a place where the Chief Minister is a lady.”

Dr.Sharma nodded in understanding but did not say anything. He thought, police are needed for us Indians now.

Some piping hot idlis in Kamat followed by a strong filter coffee and 3 hours of heavy blaring horns and abusive drivers later, the threesome were at the gates of Dr.Sharma’s dream destination. The place had changed completely. Long queue in front of the ticket stand awaited them. Rs.50 for a camera! Why can’t we capture our memories for free in our own country thought Dr.Sharma.

The grass was growing upto the knees in some places with more weeds than grass. Water smelt. The layout though was just the same. Dr.Sharma went as fast as he could up the stairs to the place where they had dreamt. He was a happy kid. He could even see a portrait of Mahatma Gandhi peeking at him though a small waterfall now. Beautiful.

“But why are they not able to maintain this place?”

“There must be more than 30,000 people coming here every week. That will mean an average of Rs.4.5 lakhs plus the camera price of another 3 lakhs totalling to Rs.7.5 lakhs per week.” Rashmi was a financial analyst. “And this is excluding the royalties from the stalls inside and the parking ticket charges. But they will have to feed their own pockets first and greed has no boundaries. So nothing will be left for actual maintenance of the place.” This was slowly turning into a very depressing day indeed.

Sitting in the well trimmed garden, all 5 of them were dreaming loud about the free India.

“There will be no shortage of food.”

“Our resources will be our own.”

“Taxes that we give will be spent for our good.”

They are all still just dreams, thought Dr.Sharma sitting in the lawns which had been the setting for some lovely movies in the last few decades. Why did we go to all that trouble then? Progress and freedom seem to have reduced us to selfish, immoral people who have no respect for others.

“Lets go back home Gaurav. I am feeling tired.”

“But the musical fountain show will start in 15 minutes dadaji.”

“No, just take me back to Bangalore.” He started walking towards the gate, quite yet screaming inside.

Dr.Sharma had stopped reading the newspapers in disgust a long time back. Stories of violence and corruption were the only thing that these papers printed. He had only thought that some hope was still present somewhere but that seemed to have evaporated today.

Reaching back, he slowly changed and went back to sleep. Never ever to dream again…

Agnostics view

"Please get my son to pass his exams."
"Wish I could get that promotion."
"Get me past these exams God."
"Make that lovely girl fall for me."
"Get me happiness in this marriage."

Few of the wishes that possibly go on in people's minds when in a temple....?

I call myself an agnostic (and I sincerely feel that I am) and I happened to land up in a Sai Baba temple in Bangalore yesterday with my wife. While standing there watching the innumerable number of people who were sitting / standing and chanting the hyms (which were pretty nice), I could not help buy think about the various things that all these ladies and gentlemen would be thinking or wishing for. Maybe all the above and a lot lot more. Maybe hoping that the next stock market crash will not lead to them going bankrupt. Maybe, just maybe.

The mind is a very volatile place and thoughts float around. Once through on the guesses on what will be going on in different minds, I was felt wondering if there was a single person in that gathering of possibly afew hundreds who was actually wishing for happiness for more people than himself or herself? How about wishing for a very very fast invention of a way to harness sunlight in a more renewable way? How about wishing for a mind reversal of all the people who (for their own sake) dont mind harming others (some get termed terrorists and some others are the more educated "powers of the world")?

Why not get all these card companies to come up with a day to commemorate selfless wishing where everyone will need to pray for something for the whole world for a whole day instead of focusing only on our own very very narrow and small worlds? Get your God to bend on his or her knees and actually make this world a better place? Get us agnostics to start believing by showing us the power of God which will not have something to do with some disasters somewhere?

Cheers!
Falcon

Check this out - The all New Samsung Galaxy Tab 750

The brandest newest Samsung Galaxy Tab 750 (strange naming...) is coming out and you can check out the LIVE WEBCAST on my blog...

Thank you everyone!

I am stunned! I am astounded! I have no words...... I didnt know people actually came to my blog and now I got my first 1000 visits! (Yes I started way back but till this year beginning, I had around 400 views so that IS something)

Thanks everyone. Hope I will be able to keep posting better quality posts in the coming future.

Cheers!
Falcon

Why am I a non-vegetarian - An economic perspective

Disclaimer: Anyone promoting vegetarianism may not like what I am writing below. I make no qualms about being a non-veg and I love my chicken and sea food in any form, shape or size (just make sure its cooked). I respect vegetarians (my wife is one) and I expect others to respect my eating habits so please don’t comment if you are a “I can’t hear about non-vegetarianism” type.

Ever wondered what will happen if as a lot of advertising nowadays is promoting, everyone became a vegetarian? I thought of the economics of this thing and came across two points which might see a change if this happened:

1. 1.     Jobs!

a.      According to FAO (www.fao.org) there were 38 million fishermen in the world. Assuming that each household has one fisherman and 4 people, that will make a total of around 150 million people sustaining on fishing.

b.      Add to the above the middlemen who purchase and sell the fish to the buyers and take the above figure to around 200 million.

c.       Lets talk chicken....Did you know that there are more than a 100,000 poultry farms in Bangladesh itself! (Courtesy another FAO report) Will I be wrong in saying that some few million poultry farms exist in the world?

d.      Now just add the number of retailers selling non-veg stuff including all the restaurants, the various subsidiary industries existing because of non-veg cooking....and the number of people sustaining their livelihood on non-veg DIRECTLY will go way beyond a billion in a world with total population around 7 Bn! (That is 15% of total world population...)

1. 2.     Inflation! (Yeah you heard me right...!)

·         While in India, it is reported that around 40% of the population is vegetarian, this January, 2010 article (http://www.articlesbase.com/health-articles/vegetarian-populations-around-the-world-1725231.html) says that around 60 million other people are vegetarians. Add 40% of 1.2 Bn Indians which makes the figure go up to around a billion. So that makes around 6 billion non-vegetarians.

·         Is it safe to assume that a non-vegetarian has non-veg once a day? (on an average I know of people who cannot survive without non-veg while others have this once in 2-3 days). I know for sure that this is a very very conservative estimate....

·         Now also assume that non-veg accounts for 30% of the plate contents which will give it a share of around 10% of your food basket.

·         Now consider all the 6 billion non-veggies convert to vegetarianism...the 10% of their food basket will be converted to vegetables.

·         The cost of vegetables will automatically double and more... just do the math. I am no economist!

So unless you have jobs to give to a billion extra people and can ensure that the vegetable demand can be met, I will suggest look at more important things to do that convert people to vegetarianism.

Falcon

Taking a Play School Franchise? Beware...

Have you heard of the "Baby Boomers"??? This referred to the people born just after the end of WW-II in the next decade or so which provided a sudden spike in the world population. (Refer wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baby_boomer) OK...so what?

In a freakonomics inspired article, I will try to connect my post title to the above topic...so here goes...

Baby Boomers were not just an event but a whole phenomenon specially in Europe and America. As these babies reached various stages in life - namely teenage, adoloscence, marriage etc etc they resulted in expansion / creation of industries which were either non-existent or did not have much relevance before then. The marketeers had "reinforced a sense of generational distinctiveness" into the generation and resulted in getting huge profits for themselves. Of course the parents stopped the production plants and the population explosion was halted...

Something similar happened in India around 10-15 years back. Its called "Information Technology". The phenomenon was huge and within just few years, every middle class family had some relative who had graduated and then gone to either Bangalore or Pune and was working either "in software" or "in BPO".

These ladies and gentlemen had very similar backgrounds. Their parents had held either government posts or had a small business of their own. They had been brought up with the constant "get settled" ringing sound in their ears. They had seen the "neighbour's son" going to America and making a fortune. They had tried their best to study and get good marks so that they could also follow that neighbor's son...and then suddenly Mr.Narayanmurthy and his counterparts elsewhere had blessed them with the IT Revolution. Not only did these people start dreaming of having a "well settled" life and be what their parents had always hoped they will be but they also realized that they could get a lot better for their kids... They had enough to spare to see the children getting good education and then possibly going on to do big things....

The result of the IT revolution???

1. The Mall culture boomed. I still remember the first time I went to PVR Anupam in Saket, Delhi in 1994 and realized that it had 4 halls in one place...AND there was a pizza parlor and few other fast food eateries on the ground floor and I felt....WOW!!!! Again, I came to Bangalore in 2006 and possibly the only few places we could go to on weekends were Forum mall / Garuda mall / Cunningham road. Within 5 years, there is a mall on every corner...I can see one from the balcony of my apartment! Of course, most of these constructions and paper works had started some years back.
2. McDonalds and KFC's mushroomed. Yeah....again I will attribute it solely to the tremendous spending power of the young crowd. They got what they wanted and these were the "in" things....so was your next door CCD which is now as frequent in Bangalore (and Kolkata and Mumbai and Delhi and even to some extent in Guwahati) as a mom & pop store!

Then what happened..? As these were developing, the "IT folks" started getting married. And who better to get married to than someone who understands your work as well as you. Hence marry "Renu aunty's daughter who is also working in Bangalore" (as told to me by a friend who was reciting his mom's statement)...

And up came the 2BHK (Bedroom, Hall, Kitchen flats) and the 3 BHK apartments in multistoreyed "societies". These provide amenities like parking for your car, security and if you are planning a little upper class lifestyle - a clubhouse with maybe a swimming pool, gym etc etc etc....and of course a play area for your kids. Initially these were available for prices as low as Rs.30 lacs which have now climbed up to a crore or more for the place within 5-6 years!

What next? These are the current phenomena which have been growing rapidly...:

1. Play Schools...popular play schools are now distributing franchisees like they were available at a dime a dozen and they are finding enough suitors as well who are willing to invest in their own business. This started around 8-10 years back (around the time the first "IT folks" were getting married and having their kids???)
2. Kids' birthday party theme based companies (or whatever I may call them)....you get everything your kid needs here...and not just for the parties, even international children brands are jumping into India now.
3. International Schools which are gaining rapid popularity for those dreamy eyed parents who want to give everything that they could not get for their children.... Walking past some houses yesterday, I actually saw an "International School" inside a 2500 sqft apartment!!!!! (It was my inspiration for this article so I should not complain)

Will this phenomena stick? Going by past record, I will say it definitely will move on to something for teens maybe in another 5 years......and marriages in another 10-15......

So will you like a Play School franchise? Or maybe open a marriage hall in the same location to cater to these "IT BOOMERS"...?

Magadha – Sublimity Forgotten – Part 4: Escaping from the Naxal menace

Prologue: While doing some sort of googling on my thought process and how it should come about, I came across a very very interesting open letter written to Mr.Chidambaram. Kudos to Mr.Arun Agrawal. Here is the link.

Last part after the long monotones in the previous one must be a good feeling for few people who might have bothered to read it… it did help me a lot though…

Understood that their do exist some factions who are terrorists in the true sense of the word and I seriously feel that they should be wiped out with the use of any sort of force which may be required. On the other hand, there are majority of the people in these areas who have taken up arms or are supporting the “cause” just because they feel that the governments who are supposed to represent them are not just. Of course, education helps since you get a more open mind to thinking….but how many governments have seriously made any effort to educate? It will take extra effort because all these people have always lived without the need for any education other than how to survive in jungles.

Again, I will in no way say that mining in these areas should be banned in any way. 200,000 crores is not a small amount in any way and this is the amount of production that is estimated to have happened in 2010-11. Mining should be taken up but it should come with some clauses:

1.       Clause 1: Equal profit sharing by the people of the area and the labor. The money may not be given directly to them but should be used for land development after the mine is closed and bring about self sufficiency and education to the people of the area. COMPLETE transparency required in all these activities.

2.       Clause 2: Health and hygiene should be properly maintained in the mines for the people working there.

What (in my view) is needed is to handle this entire operation with a carrot and stick approach. Of course the most essential thing is the leader and his team should be clean in that no monetary gains of any sort should be available to them. Their asset holdings should be carefully monitored by an independent charge for which they should give all data required at any point of time.

Post this, the tribals should be allowed to appoint their own committees to assess each area’s potential in mining and what they require from the mine holders. These committees should be assisted by authorized scientists who will support the functioning.

After this exercise, with representation from all stakeholders, and time-bound due diligence, way out for mining activities should be proposed. (I am sure my two clauses above will find their way into these..)

Again the exercise above should lead to two things:

1.       Mining will be more legitimate and illegal mining will be reported by locals more easily since they know legal mines will give them more stake.

2.       Tribes will have more confidence in the work being done for them and they will show more readiness in supporting the center.

Once confidence is brought back, helping local people build basic infrastructure by providing with support (not completely financial since we know how much of it lands up with the naxals). Building hospitals (with local ways of treatment incorporated), schools, ensuring scholarships for capable students, providing with ways of living and earning by interacting more with the world outside will help a lot…. And frankly, who will have a problem with this? And if someone does, ask them what they want and why…and give it (unless it is some stupid grant which never finds its way to the place where it is intended to reach).

Over time, as local support for naxalism reduces, the few terrorists can be herded and punished though I don’t think that will be an issue if everything goes to plan…

Simple solution? I don’t think so but definitely a start can be made…who knows something simpler might just come up.

Magadha – Sublimity Forgotten – Part 3: Political turmoil and Corruption in Post-Independence era

While talking of Magadha region (and particularly Jharkhand) post Independence, it becomes essential to discuss the political situation in Bihar till 2000 and what prompted the entire split of the states. My comments as till now will be based on internet searches and my own inferences based on these findings.

Taking this entire part in 3 chapters to discuss:

1.       Politics in Bihar from 1947 till 2000.

2.       Reasons for Bihar – Jharkhand split.

3.       Jharkhand post 2000.

Political turmoil in Bihar till 2000

Bihar (including present Bihar and greater Jharkhand) had been the seat of development and education in India till Independence. Most of the movements against the British rule had also started there prominent being the Champaran Satyagrah (Civil Disobedience Movement) of Mahatma Gandhi along with the numerous tribal revolts which were mentioned in previous parts. Some of the most advanced universities of medieval world were in Bihar.

Post Independence, Bihar has been at the center of some strange power struggles between the central and state governments. Bihar immediately after Independence was governed by two great Gandhians: Sri Krishna Sinha (Sri Babu) and Anugrah Narayan Sinha. These two were members of the Indian National Congress (INC) and ruled the state as Chief Minister and deputy Chief Minister. They have always been regarded for their unimpeachable and highly uplifting integrity which is also very clearly visible in the recently released book “Freedom & Beyond” which has correspondence between Nehru and Sri Babu. Bihar was in safe hands till 1961 when Sri Babu died while CM. Krishna Ballabh Sahay took the reins of the state in 1963 after which for another 4 years, Bihar was OK when Ballabh babu who just happened to be the only CM of Bihar from the now Jharkhand constituency of Hazaribagh. He is also known as the author of the bill which promoted banishment of Zamindari system. Post this, Bihar was predominantly ruled by CM’s who were populist in nature including the famous B.P.Mandal  who was CM for around 48 days. His suggestions for OBC reservations led to the subsequent downfall of the V.P.Singh government a long time afterwards. After Ballabh babu, in 10 years, 12 CM’s took power interspersed with President’s rule twice! And most of these were from INC. This didn’t stop here…. From 1980 to 1990, another 6 took power (all from INC) before the famous Laloo Prasad Yadav. It is safe to assume that when you are not sure of your seat even inside your own party, what will you do for the state… Bihar went from being a very well governed state to slowly go down in its capabilities. The result: from 1980-1990 (data of state-wise GDP’s at link below) when South Indian states and even Maharasthra and numerous other states were growing by around 8-10% per annum, Bihar managed to even show a negative GDP growth in 2 years. The situation was even worse in tribal populated Southern Bihar (now Jharkhand) since almost all the CM’s were from the Northern parts who focused on their vote banks in the North to garner votes by providing any development that was coming to these places. The situation was not helped by the fact that Bihar accounts for 54 seats in the Lok Sabha which assures that power in Bihar becomes very important for the one holding it.

Bihar was slowly getting converted to the state which provided cheap labor to the rest of the country. (I still remember some painters who had come to our house in Delhi around 10 years back. When my mother asked if they were from Bihar, they scrounged and started at her and commented: “Do we look like Biharis to you? Don’t abuse us.”) It was this anti-Congress wave which was developing till 1990 that Janata Dal managed to come to power in 1995 on the pretext of being a party “for the backward” headed by a Yadav. Due to continuous caste based politics first on the back of the oppressed “lower castes” and then with the support of Muslim leaders (who were 20% of Bihar population), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) managed to hold onto Bihar till 2005 even when Laloo made a mockery of Indian political system by promoting his wife Rabri Devi to the CM post. Too many times post that, she has shown her complete ignorance of the needs of a CM… a very very sad successor to the great leaders of the past.

Reasons for Bihar – Jharkhand split

In March, 1998 after 2 very unstable years of United Front’s rule at the center, BJP (through NDA) came to power in Delhi under the leadership of Mr.Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Two years before this, in 1996 Lok Sabha elections, the BJP and Samata Party together dented the Janata Dal – Congress combines power in Bihar by taking a huge slice off the combines’ Lok Sabha seats from Bihar. Samata Party itself gained 6 seats in Bihar itself. This strength gained in 1996 was even further strengthened in 1998 and in 1999 when even deeper inroads were made into Bihar.

Once Atal Bihari Vajpayee came to power (stable power unlike 1998), Bihar was high on the agenda. While the demand for a separate state of Jharkhand had always been present since Independence, it had lost its sheen during the political turmoils. Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM) had come to power in 10 Vidhan Sabha seats out of 324…all 10 in South Bihar on the call that they will demand for an independent Jharkhand. The NDA government at the center also knew that with the muscle power of JD which was in power in Bihar, it will be difficult to break into the state where the BJP had just 41 seats unless the state and hence Laloo’s power was divided.

Hence after a very controversial bill was tabled and passed as Bihar Reorganization Act in 2000 Jharkhand was separated. A poll conducted during that time actually showed that even people of Jharkhand did not fully support the division because they felt that even though that area was far richer in natural resources, separation from Patna will completely hide them in country political scenario. BJP on the other hand felt that even though JMM (allied to Congress) will become strong in Jharkhand, it will be easier to pry away Jharkhand than Bihar. (Things turned out to be completely different though with JD(U) – BJP combine coming back to power under Nitish Kumar in Bihar while BJP and JMM keep switching in Jharkhand.) This resulted in Jharkhand becoming the state in 2000.

Jharkhand post 2000

Filled with corrupt politicians who suddenly found themselves in power in a state after the split from Bihar, Jharkhand went from bad to worse. Mining has been promoted aggressively on the pretext of giving jobs to the tribals while MNC’s have benefited by cheap and readily available labor and the large quantities of minerals inside the ground. Greasing of palms to get such opportunities has been hugely beneficial for the companies as well as the politicians.

High levels of corruption in other states of West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh (Cchattisgarh), Karnataka related to mining did not help matters at all resulting in what is now the situation.

According to the data available on the website of Ministry of Mines, last 5 years have seen double in value of production minerals to almost 200,000 crores estimated in 2010-11. This on-shore production is predominantly taking place in 10 states of which Naxal infested states are 6 accounting for 56% of total on-shore production that is reported. Newspapers and articles are full of cases of illegal mines in these areas which are not even reported and have been the cause of the real trouble between the local tribes and the governments.

Unfortunately, this has resulted in the following:

1.       The land which “legally” belonged to the government was taken away from the tribes who had been staying there for centuries.

2.       Tribes were categorized as below poverty line and used as cheap labor by MNC’s to use in mines under extremely dangerous conditions.

3.       Not only did the mines result in elimination of forests which were the livelihood of the tribes, but they resulted in numerous respiratory and other diseases in the tribals.

4.       While the government watched from the sidelines, the police was used to curb any violence in these tribals.

What happened was the resurgence of Naxal activities in all these areas since the people started looking up to these armed militants to provide them with some respite from the continuous pressures of the local politicians. While Naxalites did extort money from the local tribesmen, they also provided them with support from the police which was man-handling the ladies and torturing the people on pretext of providing protection to the company executives.

Tribals had never been averse to taking up arms against oppression. This has been common in history for the last thousands of years. Hence any feeling of being oppressed is bound to have its affects in these areas unlike the plains of Bihar and UP where oppression by politicians is usually tolerated without any thought of physical violence. Given the changing climate and the feeling that even when released from the clutches of the British, the tribes had to continue to fight for the land which they rightfully claimed as theirs. What we have is a highly intensified and aggravated situation further fueled by the claims of politicians that these are power struggles where Maoists are trying to create terror by oppressing the weak.

As far as I have read, the only people these Maoists seem to have targeted till date are the following:

1.       Politicians

2.       Police and other armed forces which they feel are representatives of the government

3.       MNC’s

Anyone else had any problems? Do let me know…

All the 3 categories above represent the people who are the “oppressors” in this case… who are now becoming the oppressed. Power corrupts and that is what is happening with the Naxals as well who have started making money by using power.

Unfortunately, the people who are best suited to correct the state of these tribes who have taken up arms are the ones who are guilty of having put them in this place. Hence any solution that might come will have to have one thing at the core: Upliftment of the Tribes. Otherwise all efforts will be futile and only superficial.

Magadha – Sublimity Forgotten – Part 2: Historical accolades and ways of living in Greater Jharkhand

Jharkhand means the Land of Forests. It literally is that. Go on a train journey through this area (e.g. Kolkata to Ranchi and then onwards to Bhubaneswar) and you will know what I mean. It has always remained the land of forests / bushes with abundant wildlife and other natural resources including water and minerals below the ground. Centuries of forests have led to vast deposits of coal and other minerals in this area…but we will come to that later.

So by any wildest imagination, what do you expect a small tribe staying in a forest during the medieval period to be doing? Want help with imagination? Think of an Animal Planet episode on behavior of a pride of Lions in the jungle.

They will surely be hunting for food with metal weapons. They will also be very carefully guarding their women and children from other marauding tribes since that’s what a person in a jungle does. They will be fighting very very aggressively for every small piece of land which they will again guard since they will have a direct claim to the game which is available on that land. Since most of their life is dependent on land, they will by nature have to be aggressive in behavior. (I am sure the guys who were not so domineering found themselves demoted to somewhere lower down the hierarchy.) These “heroes” of the tribe will get the best of the women and the lion’s share of the food. They will possibly also get power to become leaders or elect leaders, take decisions regarding main events in the tribe, attack other tribes if required (predominantly for land I am sure)… This feeling of mine has also been reflected in a study on tribes done by a CountryStudies group¹.

 

Now extrapolate this nature over many centuries and what do you get? Small to medium sized tribes which have learnt to fend for themselves while living with their natural surroundings which are forests. They also surely love their forests since these forests are the ones which give them food and shelter.

Thus safe to say that right from the period of Peopling of India² till around the 16^th century when the Mughals invaded India, these tribes (or adivasis in hindi) were living in complete harmony with nature….and among themselves? They really didn’t care for anyone outside the realm of their area which was as small or as big as they wanted depending on possibly just one thing and that was the availability of food. Simple life. Truly…

And how do these tribes behave now? Exactly in the same way as they have behaved for the last 50-60 thousand years! The Gods they worship, the culture they follow, the food they eat (and even how they procure it and cook it)……nothing seems to have changed drastically in so many thousand years.

Some more historical facts:

1.       The early Indian dynasties – Mauryas, Guptas and others did not bother the tribals. They allowed these to live the life that they liked and the entire relationship was very symbiotic. The famous Swami Valmiki is actually known to be an adivasi.

2.       Mughals were the first who truly tried to usurp the lands belonging to these tribes. I could not find anything much on how that went for either the mughals or the tribals. Numerous references do exist to the use of Mughal architecture in tribal areas.

3.       From the beginning of the British rule in India, the British had a very difficult time trying to keep the land which they had claimed under the Jagirdari system where they appointed a Jagirdar for the land and asked the tribes to pay taxes. The revolts of all these tribes³ led to some of the bloodiest revolts against British rule. Though not as famous as the 1857 uprising, each of these was difficult for the British to suppress. (Hindsight: If only the tribes had learnt to live together instead of fighting each other, they would probably never have been controlled by the British.)

Clearly, can we assume that if their land or livelihood were threatened, these tribes would take up arms and fight till death? Of course, that is what they have been taught by their ancestors…just like we have been taught to earn our livelihood and support our family by taking care of the basic requirements as well as some luxuries if possible.

Some links referred to in this part:

1.       http://countrystudies.us/india/70.htm

2.       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peopling_of_Indi

3.       http://swapsushias.blogspot.com/2010/09/major-tribal-uprisings-in-british-india.html

Magadha – Sublimity Forgotten – Part 1: Jharkhand Then & Now

Magadha – a region which finds reference in almost all main texts of Indian history, a region which brought in the era which was called the “Golden Period” of Indian history when Indian economy was the largest in the world, a region which gave birth to Jainism and Buddhism both of which promote peace and tranquility among all people irrespective of their religion, a region which gave birth to the Maurya as well as the Gupta dynasties in India, a region which was home to some of the most scientifically & culturally advanced civilizations in the world for almost 2000 years.

And what is Magadha today? This area which encompassed (roughly) the eastern part of Madhya Pradesh (now Cchattisgarh), Southern Bihar (now Jharkhand which is the major part of Magadha), little of present Bihar, Northern Orissa & western parts of the modern West Bengal which is a land-locked, mineral rich, culturally rich, forested, tribal land. What is it today? Assocham (The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India) puts Jharkhand at the bottom of development in all ways – way below national averages in terms of investments, infrastructure developments or any other growth statistic that you may decide to use. The other parts of the Magadha, which have fallen into other states thanks to the Divide & Rule doctrine of the British or the political push & pull of the Indian politicians, do not fair too well but find themselves a little better condition but not too great. Despite that, Jharkhand continues to be the leading producer of mineral wealth in the country, endowed as it is with vast variety of minerals like iron ore, coal, copper ore, mica, bauxite, graphite, limestone, and uranium. The area is also known for its vast forest resources.

The Naxal-Maoist “insurgency” has been blamed for most issues which have been infesting this area including any forms of development which the government has claimed to have tried. But what happened to this great land which remained the thorn in the British rule in India for more than a century? Does anyone know that the famed “Divide & Rule” policy of Lord Curzon was implemented in its full viciousness in this area to curb the continuous rebellion of the numerous tribes which refused to be part of the colonial rule? These tribes resulted in the bloodiest and longest battles which the British had to fight for their supremacy compared even to the Boer wars in Africa if taken in entirety. Yes! That is how aggressive these 5.3% of Indians can become if their area is challenged!

In this 4 part series, I intend to discuss the historical significance of this land which resulted in the people being what they are, the political climate which resulted in the downfall of this area post Independence leading to what it has currently become and my very modest and un-experienced ideas in how I feel the ancient Magadha can rise like a Phoenix – again to spread its wings and help the entire country sour.

Disclaimers:

1.       I do not have any education in history apart from the classes in medium school.

2.       I have been to Jamshedpur and Ranchi and apart from little travel in Northern Orissa, I have not been to any areas which may be termed as tribal areas in this belt (even though I will love to go at least once) hence all of my thoughts have come from readings and my own beliefs.

3.       I am a staunch protestor against any acts of corruption (an irony since I am also an Entrepreneur) and in more occasions than one; this protest may come across very strongly in some of my sentences.

4.       In all my references to Jharkhand, what I will mean is the definition of Greater Jharkhand which lot of people recognizes as the area including parts of West Bengal, Orissa and Cchattisgarh since these areas have the same ways of living to some extent separated from how the people in other parts of these respective states live.

Some more things in Anna Hazare and the Lokpal Bill.... I have copied this and added my comments in red..... My signature from today is changed to Jai Hind!

1.      Who is Anna Hazare?
An ex-army man. Fought 1965 Indo-Pak War

2.      What's so special about him?

He built a village Ralegaon Siddhi in Ahamad Nagar district, Maharashtra

3.      So what?

This village is a self-sustained model village. Energy is produced in the village itself from solar power, biofuel  and wind mills. (More details on http://www.annahazare.org/ralegan-siddhi.html)

In 1975, it used to be a poverty clad village. Now it is one of the richest village in India. It has become a model for self-sustained, eco-friendly & harmonic village.

4.      Ok,...?

This guy, Anna Hazare was awarded Padma Bhushan and is a known figure for his social activities.

5.      Really, what is he fighting for?

He is supporting a cause, the amendment of a law to curb corruption in India.

6.      How that can be possible?

He is advocating for a Bil, The Lok Pal Bill (The Citizen Ombudsman Bill), that will form an autonomous authority who will make politicians (ministers), beurocrats (IAS/IPS) accountable for their deeds.

7.      It's an entirely new thing right..?

In 1972, the bill was proposed by then Law minister Mr. Shanti Bhushan. Since then it has been neglected by the politicians and some are trying to change the bill to suit their theft (corruption).

8.      Oh.. He is going on a hunger strike for that whole thing of passing a Bill ! How can that be possible in such a short span of time?

The first thing he is asking for is: the government should come forward and announce that the bill is going to be passed. (The bill has been now taken into consideration within 4 “long” days)

Next, they make a joint committee to DRAFT the LOK PAL BILL. 50% goverment participation and 50% public participation. Because you cant trust the government entirely for making such a bill which does not suit  them.

9.      Fine, What will happen when this bill is passed?

A LokPal will be appointed at the centre. He will have an autonomous charge, say like the Election Commission of India. In each and every state, Lokayukta will be appointed. The job is to bring all alleged party to trial in case of corruptions within 1 year. Within 2 years, the guilty will be punished. Not like, Bofors scam or Bhopal Gas Tragedy case, that has been going for last 25 years without any result. (Another previous link that I had posted though gives a completely different point. The author says that the Lokpal can only give their recommendations to the speaker who will then decide what needs to be done with the guilty and / or the recommendations. He can also throw the file in the gutter if he feels like it...)

10.  Is he alone? Whoelse is there in the fight with Anna Hazare?

Baba Ramdev, Ex. IPS Kiran Bedi, Social Activist Swami Agnivesh, RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal and many more.

Prominent personalities like Aamir Khan are supporting his cause.

11.  Ok, got it. What can I do?

At least we can spread the message. How?

Putting status message, links, video, changing profile pics, forwarding this Email, spreading the news over casual chat, etc. (I don’t know if that is sufficient. How about REFUSING to pay bribes for a change, not breaking any rules wherever we are and whatever we are doing? How about adopting a village like Mr.Hazare did without a single person coming to know about it till he had shown what he meant?)

At least we can support Anna Hazare and the cause for uprooting corruption from India.

At least we can hope that his Hunger Strike does not go in vain.

At least we can pray for his good health.

(A very pessimistic Mr.Badal on the bill has something completely difference to say though: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Badal-No-Lokpal-Bill-can-end-corruption/articleshow/7940063.cms)

P.S.: A few more details about Anna Hazares Fast and Jan Lok Pal Bill. Please read it.

Salient features of Jan Lokpal Bill
Drafted by Justice Santosh Hegde, Prashant Bhushan and Arvind Kejriwal, this Bill has been refined on the basis of feedback received from public on website and after series of public consultations. It has also been vetted by and is supported by Shanti Bhushan, J M Lyngdoh, Kiran Bedi, Anna Hazare etc. It was sent to the PM and all CMs on 1st December. However, there is no response.

1.      An institution called LOKPAL at the centre and LOKAYUKTA in each state will be set up.

2.      Like Supreme Court and Election Commission, they will be completely independent of the governments. No minister or bureaucrat will be able to influence their investigations.

3.      Cases against corrupt people will not linger on for years anymore. (Again read my comment somewhere above.) Investigations in any case will have to be completed in one year. Trial should be completed in next one year so that the corrupt politician, officer or judge is sent to jail within two years.

4.      The loss that a corrupt person caused to the government will be recovered at the time of conviction.

5.      How will it help a common citizen: If any work of any citizen is not done in prescribed time in any government office, Lokpal will impose financial penalty on guilty officers, which will be given as compensation to the complainant.

6.      So, you could approach Lokpal if your ration card or passport or voter card is not being made or if police is not registering your case or any other work is not being done in prescribed time. Lokpal will have to get it done in a months time. You could also report any case
of corruption to Lokpal like ration being siphoned off, poor quality roads been constructed or
panchayat funds being siphoned off. Lokpal will have to complete its investigations in a year, trial will be over in next one year and the guilty will go to jail within two years.

7.      But wont the government appoint corrupt and weak people as Lokpal members? That wont be possible because its members will be selected by judges, citizens and constitutional authorities and not by politicians, through a completely transparent and participatory process.

8.      What if some officer in Lokpal becomes corrupt? The entire functioning of Lokpal/ Lokayukta will be completely transparent. Any complaint against any officer of Lokpal shall be investigated and the officer dismissed within two months.

9.      What will happen to existing anti-corruption agencies? CVC, departmental vigilance and anti-corruption branch of CBI will be merged into Lokpal. Lokpal will have complete powers and machinery to independently investigate and prosecute any officer, judge or politician.

Jai Hind!