Pakistan, our Neighbour

Since yesterday, the television news channels in India have been full of visuals of the return of five Indian soldiers from Kashmir, massacred by Pakistani troops. One can see throngs of people who went to receive them, and to accompany them on their final journey. There is a real anger among Indians that is directed at the Pakistanis for their unending, relentless and unprovoked killings of Indian soldiers, as well as at our own pro-Pak government for continuing to take this nonsense from a rogue, despicable, and terrorist country.

Pakistan is a failed state, and given its past conduct vis-à-vis India during the last sixty years, there is absolutely no reason for India to engage with Pakistan. In fact, it is most surprising that India should even wish for improved relations with Pakistan.

As everybody knows, Pakistan has been waging a proxy war against India ever since Independence. Its war against India is not based on any principle or a justifiable belief in something higher—such as democracy vs. dictatorship, liberal vs. reactionary, or free market vs. communist. In fact, Pakistan itself is the epitome of all that is evil and abhorrent. Instead of being thankful or grateful to India for having had the opportunity of being exposed to a higher culture and ancient civilization, it just wants to continue to belittle India, kill as many Indians as it can without any provocation, foment trouble between India and its minorities, and grab whatever land it can by its regular military incursions. At best, Pakistan’s conduct can only be described as disgusting.

It suits Pakistan perfectly well to wage a proxy war against India. Proxies are the acts of cowards, it enables them to breach borders surreptitiously, attack from behind, kill and kidnap, and escape under the cover of darkness. According to government figures, this has happened more that 180 times in the last three years.

Like a true coward, Pakistan denies any involvement in these crimes when protests are lodged by the Indian government. It is not possible to win against an enemy when it is waging a proxy war, and when the enemy state has given a free reign to its armed forces to bomb, kill or kidnap without being accountable to anybody. If the Indian government is serious about defending its territory and people it must give a free hand to its military to respond in whatever way it sees fit. We cannot defeat terrorism by ignoring terrorist acts. We cannot wish it away.

Antony should be tried for treason

Yet again, the Pakistani troops crossed the Line of Control in Kashmir today and butchered five Indian soldiers manning a border post, well within Indian territory.  This follows another incident on 8 January, when Pakistani troops attacked and beheaded one Indian soldier, and killed another. What is the Indian government doing about it?

Hours after this incident, the Defense Minister of India made a statement to the Parliament that “the ambush was carried out by approximately 20 heavily-armed terrorists along with persons dressed in Pakistan army uniform”, while an Army spokesman had earlier said, “soldiers from Pakistan Army” were involved.  We should ‘salute’ our Defense Minister for absolving the Pakis of this heinous crime by pointing a finger at the Pakistan-based terrorists. The Parliament was justifiably furious, and saw through the game being played by the government (of appeasing Pakistan), and at which it (the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty) has over a half century of experience.



Our Defense Minister’s utterances truly reflect the wishes of his master (or rather, mistress). Back in March he had also made a statement in Parliament regarding the facts surrounding the beheading of an Indian soldier by intruding Pak troops on 8 January, that "terrorists affiliated to LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammad were involved in the attack".  At that time too, he did not name the Pakistan Army.

Mr. A.K. Antony is either a Paki agent in the Indian Government or he is a traitor. In either case, he deserves to be tried for treason and, if found guilty, appropriately punished.

Mr. Abe's Three Arrows Need Course Adjustment

Many Japanese appear to be excited about the spending spree on which the government seems ready to embark after the upper house elections in July. I clearly remember that similar actions by previous governments did not produce the desired results. To the contrary, those stimulus  packages just left the Japanese people deeper in debt, a debt which now stands at one thousand trillion yen. There is a real risk that when Mr. Abe fires his ‘Three Arrows’, the economy might be hurt rather than being strengthened. It is awfully strange that in an age of rockets and guided missiles, Mr. Abe is thinking of shooting arrows.

In regards to the stimulus package of over 10 trillion yen loaded in Mr. Abe’s 2nd Arrow, it is doubtful it will hit its target of generating 2 percent growth over the next 10 years. This approach was tried many times during the last two decades by previous governments but did not show much in terms of results. In the past, the stimulus had been used to tear up roads that were in perfect condition and re-surfaced again, creating widespread traffic jams and inconvenience for all. Moreover, this kind of expenditure does not benefit anybody except the construction industry, which is rumored to have strong links to the ruling LDP politicians. It is also not productive. If the government must resort to Keynesian economics, I suggest a different approach which will be not only productive but also address problems associated with the onset of a greying society, and raise the standards of Japanese housing to the level prevalent in the United States and OECD countries.

My first suggestion is that the government should embark on building new and better hospitals, old peoples’ homes, and care centers. One in four Japanese is over 65 years old, and the number of senior citizens is projected to increase to about 38 percent of the population by 2050. We must move now to build the infrastructure needed by the greying society in their twilight years. The building of this infrastructure would generate significant business and new employment opportunities, and would pay for itself over a period of time.

My second suggestion is that in place of tearing up roads which are still in good enough condition and re-surfacing them--which seems to me an exercise in futility--the government should embark on a target of building 1 million new apartments over a 10-year period, i.e., one hundred thousand new apartments to be built every year. The purpose of this is to provide ordinary Japanese an opportunity to experience and start a higher standard of living, out of the so-called ‘rabbit hutches’ of the past and into the modern, affluent lifestyle of citizens of a modern, post-industrial society. These apartments should be built all over Japan, especially in all major cities, in sizes of 50, 100, and 150 square meters for singles, couples, and families. They should be made available at the price of one thousand yen per square meter per month, in Class A cities like Tokyo and Osaka, and at lesser cost in smaller cities. Thus, a family can enjoy living in a spacious apartment of 150 square meters in Tokyo/Osaka for JPY150,000 per month. When people move to live in these bigger apartments, they will also buy new, or bigger, furniture, curtains, refrigerators, and wide screen television sets, thus raising consumption and giving a boost to the economy. This investment in public works will also pay for itself, by rental income received, over a period of 20-30 years.

The problem with Japan is that its economy is based on exports, and if its exports are no longer growing so also not is the economy. The last two decades have witnessed little  growth in exports and this is reflected in the stagnation of the Japanese economy. To convert Japan’s economy from one based on exports to an economy geared towards creating and fulfilling domestic demand, should be one of the main targets of Mr. Abe’s third arrow aimed at structural reform.

It is no secret that Japan needs to increase domestic consumption. But this is becoming increasingly difficult as Japanese consumers are wary of spending in view of the uncertain economic landscape. Moreover, the number of people with reasonably high disposable income has been declining with the sharp increase in the number of temporary or non-regular workers. According to government figures, there is now one temporary worker for every two who are employed full-time. These workers earn meagre salaries, are not entitled to medical or other benefits, have no job security, and mostly live hand-to-mouth. They simply do not have the wherewithal to increase their level of consumption. Many of these workers don’t even marry, or marry late, in view of their marginalized existence.

A few years ago when Mr. Aso was the prime minister, he had promised to create 1.6 million new jobs, mostly by converting part-time workers to full-time. This needs to be done on an urgent basis, due to both economic and ethical reasons. Having a happy, satisfied, and fully-employed workforce is the shortest way to economic recovery and increased consumption. Why do we forget that consumption began to decline in the nineties as part-time/temporary employment started to rise.

If somebody has been continuously employed in a certain position as a temp or part-time worker for at least 5 years, it can be argued that his organization has a continuing need for that job and that incumbent. It can also be argued that this person is being exploited by his organization because by classifying that job as temporary or part-time, the employer can get away without paying him adequate wages, social security, and other standard benefits. I can say with certainty that this situation persists in most sectors of the economy. In the field of education, most universities continue to hire teaching faculty on a part-time basis even though many of these adjunct teachers have been teaching for more than 10 years. The result of such practices is that an unskilled worker in another sector who is on full-time employment may be making more money than our educators. My point here is that we need to have an approach that is people-centered. Governments are elected by the people, and they exist for the people.  It is high time the government begins to safeguard the interests of people (who elected it) rather than furthering the interests of big business only.

In my opinion, the Japanese economy need not remain in its current deflationary state since a majority of the workforce continues to be disciplined, hardworking, and loyal to the employer. With right policies, with a shift in emphasis from industry to people and from increasing exports to improving infrastructure for its senior citizens, Japan can come out  of its two lost decades and dazzle the world yet again.

Face of India

Some people are so dumb they never learn. Our decision-makers in the Union Government are a good example of this. Time after time, the government has been caught on the wrong foot. Most Indians will remember how, earlier this year, our leaders tried to prevent the public from assembling and demonstrating—first time during the incident involving Baba Ramdev, and second time involving the protest march of Anna Hazare soon thereafter. Both times the government underestimated the extent of public support in favor of the two protests, and resultantly had to bite the bullet. But did they learn anything?

This time around, the public anger against the government had grown many times greater compared to earlier in the year, what with the unending rise in prices and the ever-increasing number of scams by government ministers. One can go on and on, but the fact is that we suffer from a “governance deficit”. It seems everybody, from police to politicians to judges, is busy making money. So, when demonstrators began to assemble in central Delhi nobody understood the gravity of the situation. Nobody from government came to talk, pacify, or placate the protestors. Instead, they were warned not to assemble.

Having seen the tremendous public anger and outrage on the streets, the same decision-makers are now paying their respects to the gang rape victim, whose body came back from Singapore yesterday. They are talking about doing something for the protection of women. But talk is cheap and is almost always intended to score political points and to save one’s skin. Similar assurances were given earlier this year, in similar circumstances, in connection with the passage of the Lokpal Bill. In India rules are enacted to allow exceptions, and promises are made to be broken.

Shame on India

A 23-year old medical student who was repeatedly raped and severely beaten by a gang of six men 2 weeks ago has finally succumbed to her injuries in a hospital in Singapore where she had been brought for treatment. This heinous crime was committed in a moving bus on New Delhi roads in broad daylight.

Criminal behavior is not a trait exclusive to a particular ethnic group, society, or country. We all have the animal in us which is kept in check either by good upbringing, self-control, or fear of punishment. As it is difficult to ensure that everyone is brought up to a certain minimum common standard of moral and ethical behavior, the fear and rule of law is required to ensure compliance with social norms and conduct. In India, we have plenty of laws to cover almost every situation, but no rule of law; we have the law maintenance authority i.e., the police whose members believe they are the law; and we have a supposedly independent judiciary but no delivery of justice for even 15 to 20 years after a case comes to court. Moreover, we have our politicians who are not accountable to us who elected them, not accountable to anyone else, and not even accountable to God because they are themselves God. They cannot do any wrong because they never do anything except lining their pockets, and grabbing every opportunity to enrich themselves at the expense of the people. They never quit, resign, or retire from office--and if they do, they make sure that their offspring inherit their position and power. They are the new Indian maharajas, only worse. Even when a scam is discovered and exposed by the media, the politicians involved are neither convicted nor sentenced. This is the strongest encouragement to the criminally-inclined person to go ahead with the planned illegal activity since the chance of being discovered, arrested, and convicted is slim. If our leaders can do anything and get away unscathed, why can't I?

It is not only the six rapists, the ineffective police and judiciary, nor the despicable Indian politicians who are to blame for this unspeakable crime against humanity. All of us Indians should peep inside ourselves and ask what we could have done, but did not do, to avoid this fate that has befallen upon us. If Pakistan is known around the world as a country that gives a free reign to terrorists, India is in danger of being identified as a country of rapists, scamsters, and corrupt politicians. This despite the fact that at an individual level many Indians have earned a solid reputation universally in the academia, entrepreneurship, information technology, and other areas.

The son of our newly-installed president, and a member of Indian parliament due to his father's position,  called the women demonstators "dented and painted" women who have nothing better to do. The police or the government, instead of listening to the demonstrators and ensuring them of immediate remedial action, tried to stop them from assembling and when that did not work, used lathi-charge (violence) to disperse them. Our prime minister, the puppet, remained silent as usual. The Italian puppeteer, a woman herself, seems too busy grooming her son to take the position of the puppet next year after democratic-looking elections. The remaining members of the government are all sycophants and hangars-on who owe their positions to, and hang from threads held by, the great puppeteer. Was she imposed on us by Italy? No, we ourselves gave this mantle to 'Our Fair Lady'. Did you expect anything better?

If you agree with my reasoning, please forward this to people who might wish to know the truth behind the sorry state of affairs in India.

 

India continues on the path of self-destruction

I arrived in New Delhi on the evening of Saturday, July 28, for a 3-week summer vacation. On Sunday, in the middle of the night at 2:33 A.M., the lights went off. I woke up sweating ten minutes later. Electricity came back sometime after 10:00 A.M. The very next day at about noon, lights went off again. This time, too, the outage lasted about 7 hours. The second time, we learned, more than six hundred million people, or the entire North India, was affected.

Within hours of the second outage, it was announced that the Minister of Power, Mr. Shinde, was being moved to "Home". In any other civilized country, it would have been reasonable to expect that the minister will get fired for incompetency. Instead, the Indian Government rewarded him by promoting him to the position of Minister of Home Affairs. This is India. But what can we expect from Manmohan Singh, the 'Underachiever of the Year'. It would be only normal for somebody like him to hand over one of the most important portfolios to another underachiever, lest he outshines him.

In India, the corruptest of the corrupt are routinely rewarded with greater status, power, and position. Only a few days back, it was reported that Suresh Kalmadi, the defendant in the CWG scam case and who is out on bail, accused of swindling the CWG of millions of dollars, was being granted permission by the Delhi High Court to travel to London in connection with the 2012 London Olympics. How is this possible? How come he still has his passport? How come there is no authority in the Government of India that can stop him from proceeding to London, and presumably projecting himself as its representative? But then he is a member and representative of one of the most corrupt governments the world has ever seen.

Most Indians are fed up with their politicians who refuse to go away, resign, or otherwise die. Isn't it remarkable that this species, native only to India, has a much longer life span than the people it represents? It seems even God is scared to touch them lest they pollute his otherworldly abode.

Pakistan proves it again

The recent media footage coming out of Pakistan, showing the assassin of Punjab Governor being showered with flowers by ordinary folks and lawyers alike, while being led away by the police confirms yet again that Pakistan, like Somalia, is a failed state and deserves neither aid nor sympathy. A country, religion, or people who condone and celebrate the murder of their own elected officials obviously have no qualms in organizing and sending terrorists to neighboring countries to kill and cause mayhem.  Has the world forgotten the images coming out from the Taj Hotel in November of 2008 when 180 innocent people were killed by Pakistani terrorists? But can we expect anything better from Pakistan when even educated people like lawyers join in the celebrations at the assassination of a state governor by his own security guard? The murdered politician, Mr. Salman Taseer, was a well-respected man by most accounts, and represented the reasonable and moderate face of Islam. He took the stand that anti-blasphemy laws needed to be amended in a country in which 98 percent of the population was Muslim,  If anybody needed protection, said Mr. Taseer, it was the minorities, who could be-and were being-falsely implicated under the anti-blasphemy laws.

It is incredible that the United States continues to pour in billions of dollars into Pakistan each year, knowing fully that most of these funds are either pocketed by politicians or surreptitiously diverted to terrorists who can thus continue to wage their war in or against Afghanistan, India or the Western democracies.  Is it possible for the United States to win a war against fundamentalists based in Afghanistan by bribing fundamentalists in Pakistan?