Election Commission of India to manage American Elections

While the world waits with a bated breath for an official announcement anointing Joe Biden as the next president of the United States, the government-in-waiting is seriously considering to outsource the job of conducting the U.S. elections to the Election Commission of India (ECI). The ECI, it was noted, has been extremely successful in conducting elections in the world's most populous democracy, India, with an electorate of close to a billion people. The last time the ECI conducted national elections in India was in 2019, which returned the ruling BJP and its allies to power with a huge mandate and majority. The elections were conducted very professionally and efficiently, and there were no complaints or lawsuits, challenging election results. And this, despite the participation of hundreds of criminals and rogues, who all consider themselves PM-material in their self-assessment.

On the other hand, the recent American elections have resulted in lawsuits challenging not only the results but also the validity of its democratic processes. This has already happened before in the 2000 presidential elections resulting in the Bush vs. Gore lawsuit.

In view of the above, the American government-in-waiting as mentioned earlier, is thinking of outsourcing the job of election management to the Election Commission of India. The basis for this is not only the perceived mismanagement of elections in America, but also a realization that in order to compete globally, certain things must be left to those who can do them best. The success of globalization during the last three decades is in no small means due to the implementation of division of labor by global companies. A good example of putting this principle into practice is visible in the fact that major corporations and governments worldwide outsource their IT-related jobs and services to Indian IT companies.

I think the next American government realizes that if it wants to convert the Trumpian slogan "Make America Great Again" into reality, it will have to forget about another Trumpian promise of bringing back jobs to America, and outsource the thousands of jobs being done by Americans to the Election Commission of India.

You are fired, Donald Trump!

 "I'm not losing, I 'm being cheated."

As they say, "Every dog has his day." And, the day of reckoning has finally come for the greatest CONMAN of this century. He is not only a loser, he's a very angry and sore loser. He won't mind taking his country through another civil war, if he could. I can't help comparing him to Senator John McCain whom he called a 'loser' because he allowed himself to be captured during the Vietnam War. Trump can't bear to see anybody being respected because he himself doesn't respect anyone.

We all have our heroes. Have you ever heard Trump talk about his hero or idol? He has none. He is the ultimate hero. He is the greatest.

Mr. President, you're now fired. You have been certified by the American public as a 'loser'. You labelled John McCain, a real American hero, as a "loser". Your words will now come back to haunt you during your retirement, after being a one-term president.

Long Live Appeasement

When England and France finally declared war on Nazi Germany on September 3, 1939, disrupting a policy of appeasement towards Hitler, appeasement did not end there. Instead, it keeps rearing its ugly head from time to time and shows to the world that it remains a potent tool in the hands of weak and un-leader-like politicians who are unable to take a firm and principled stand on any issue. History is replete with examples of such leaders or kings who gradually lost their countries in the hope that by giving in to the seemingly modest demands of the bully they would be able to avoid war. But, it is not in the nature of bullies to be appeased. When their first demand is met, the bullies are emboldened to make their next demand, and so it goes on and on. There is no end.

Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister of India, is a classic example of a weak politician who took the baton of appeasement from Neville Chamberlain within a decade of him (Chamberlain) laying it down reluctantly. Nehru’s appeasement of the British government and of Jinnah in the early forties, led to India’s partition and a permanent headache in the form of ‘Special Status for Kashmir under Article 370’ for generations of Indians. The repercussions of Nehru’s appeasement policy have kept India bogged down in a relentless faceoff with Pakistan, and provided an opportunity to Pakistan to hone its skills in waging and spreading global terror, since it cannot win a direct and conventional war with India.

Today, on June 26, 2020, I am seeing another Western leader, “Sleepy” Joe, as Donald Trump calls him, pick up the baton of appeasement and declare his full support for Islamists and Pakis by attacking the abrogation of Article 370, the CAA and NRC. It is hugely shocking that despite Mr. Biden having been in politics for more than half a century, he does not understand that by making such a statement, not only is he interfering in the internal affairs of India, he is also supporting a failed and terrorist state of Pakistan, and siding with a country that helped bring about the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. He is supporting a country that has always milked the United States of tens of billions of dollars during the long period of America’s War on Terror, by playing the double game of “running with the hares, and hunting with the hounds”. And, when President Obama was in the ‘War Room’ of the White House directing and watching the United States’ mission to kill Osama bin Laden in Pakistan where he was being hidden by that treacherous country, did you fall asleep “Sleepy” Joe? Or have you been sleeping throughout the frustration-filled years of your one-way alliance with Pakistan? Have you slept through the seventy years of free India’s history during which your friend Pakistan has waged a proxy war on the world’s largest democracy, India, wherein its terrorists, jihadis, infiltrators, ISI, and the regular army have conducted non-stop warfare/shelling killing three or four people almost every day along or inside our border.

What is most shocking about this act of appeasement, is the fact that despite America being the land of immigrants where millions of people come to escape persecution and genocide, the president-in-waiting of this great nation sees fit to oppose India’s parliamentary passage of the CAA and NRC bills, the main purpose of which is to give citizenship and home to the persecuted (bordering on genocide) minorities in Pakistan and other Islamic countries.

Do Us a Favour, Mr. Kejriwal

I am writing to you, Mr. Kejriwal, because you have taken a number of bold initiatives to improve the living conditions of the common man during the last five years in Delhi. But we need to do much more since the previous governments have done precious little or nothing for our citizens.

Allow me to clarify, Sir. I have been living in Japan for over forty years, and I teach at Nihon University. During this period, I have had the opportunity to visit a government office for about 12-15 times to get a tax certification, new car registration, my signature or stamp certificate, and to register the acquisition of a new property.  Most of these things can be done at a local government 'ward office' (the interface between people and government) which may not be more than four or five kilometers away from anyone's residence. None of these tasks takes more than five minutes to do. When you leave the ward office after five minutes, you have the certificate or document in your pocket. Moreover, you can send your proxy to get this job done. You don't need to carry any document from your home to the ward office. Every document is there--in the government's vast data network. This is accessible from every ward office. Please note that the citizen is never asked to bring any previous receipt or document. It is the job of the government to check against its vast database that the statements made by the citizen are correct. As a citizen, I don't have to get my statements, documents and affidavits attested by a third person, because none of this nonsense is required to be carried. We in India make arrogant and pompous statements about our achievements; perhaps we should learn something from this little country, Japan. One thing we surely need to learn is to trust our own citizens, that, unless proven otherwise, he/she must be presumed to be telling the truth.

Now, back to Greater Kailash, New Delhi , where I spent my childhood and where I grew up and went to school. Why is it that whatever steps our governments take, whatever policies they make, nothing really seems to work.  Lots of new schemes are started with much fanfare, but the result is hardly visible. I can't even enjoy a walk to the market because there is no space on the sidewalk as cars are parked in all places. Everywhere in Greater Kailash, it looks like a huge junkyard of cars, leaving no space for people to walk. Similarly, the government's efforts in providing the two most essential things in life--clean air and water, leave much to be desired. Like fifty years ago, there is still only one hour of running water in the morning and one hour in the evening. If I do not get up at 6:00 in the morning and switch on the water motor to take water to the storage tank on the roof, that day becomes a dry day.

I applied to the DDA in March to get our house converted from leasehold to freehold. It has been six months and we are still nowhere. Finally, I got a letter from the DDA asking me to produce a 'No Dues' certificate from the co-op housing society. This certificate had already been submitted along with a host of other documents, some dating back to the early seventies. I mean, this is a joke. The DDA website proclaims that the process of application has been simplified and people can expect to get their work done really fast, and can even monitor the progress online. Well, I can actually monitor my file on the DDA website, except that there is no progress and the site shows the file has been sent to the Cooperative Societies Dept., where it is still languishing since March. The DDA took conversion charges of over six lakhs at the time of application. I have tried to follow up by going to the DDA many times, but these people are from another planet. We cannot communicate. They not only refuse to understand, they usually are outright rude or hostile to everyone, including me, a senior citizen.

Mr. Kejriwal, I know you started your political career on the promise of ridding the government of corruption and to provide a clean and citizen-friendly government. You have done a few things for the poor which I fully support. How about the middle-class people of Delhi who regularly face harassment from government bodies such as the DDA?

I know that a majority of flats/houses in Delhi are on a lease, and thereby cause considerable stress to owners. People want to convert their properties to freehold but the process and harassment by DDA/LDA is daunting and scares people away. As a person who does not shy away from taking such initiatives, I wish to suggest that as the CM of Delhi, you promulgate an ordinance stating the Delhi government is opening a window for three months wherein people who wish to get their properties converted to freehold can do so from 1 October to 31 December 2019 at a considerable discount. Property-owners can go to any PSU bank with their lease deed and a copy thereof, and pay conversion charges at the rate of Rs. 500 per square yard/meter for plots/houses, and a similarly worked out plan for leased flats. The PSU bank official can calculate the amount to be paid by looking at the lease deed which shows the actual area of plot/flat. The copy of the lease deed can be attached to the copy of the Freehold Payment Challan so generated and sent to the concerned government department by the bank. Life can be simple, like here in Japan, if you make it so.

The people of Delhi would be ever grateful to you for doing this, and will raise your stature to the level of a hero or a game-changer. If you announce this scheme in the next two weeks, you will surely be voted-in for a second time with a massive majority like the BJP government was in May of this year. Please keep it simple, Mr. Kejriwal.

The people in our democracy do not elect their representatives so that they can go and live in multi-acre palatial houses in Lutyens Delhi. They elect their representatives so that they can terminate the trappings of the imperial raj, democratize the babus and the bureaucracy, enhance the quality of life of everyone, and create conditions for a holistic development of society.

Thank you very much, Sir, for your kind attention to this issue.

Nichidai Bloggers students of Satish Tandon

Today is the last day of Spring semester at Nihon University. On Monday, July 29, I am going to fly back to New Delhi to be with my mother. I will spend four weeks in Delhi, however, it will be really hot. I will share with you some information about New Delhi on my return to Tokyo. Enjoy your vacation.

Brutal and inhuman killings continue in Kashmir

I find it extremely reprehensible that while the Pakistan army and Kashmiri separatists continue to kill or behead our brothers in Kashmir and other border areas on a daily basis, we not only don't feel the pain but continue to play cricket with them as if nothing has happened. Will I play cricket with my neighbor if he has just killed my brother. Why do our armed forces and the police have to put their lives on the line and bear the brunt of an unjust proxy war far away from home, family and friends while Bollywood stars are busy inviting and partying with Pakistani actors. At the same time, the whole nation itself seems to be enjoying the game of cricket far from the killing fields in Kashmir.

For seventy years now, Pakistan has been waging a proxy war against India. Almost every day 2 or 3 policemen, jawans, or civilians are killed by Pakis or Paki-sponspored terrorists and/or Kashmiri separatists. What are you doing Mr. Modi? Why did you invite Nawaz Sharif to your innauguration three years ago? Why did you drop in uninvited at Lahore on your way back from Kabul? Did you think that Pakistani mindset will change by making such gestures? Or, did you think that their unending hostility towards India will simply end. No Sir, Pakistan cannot be reformed and its stated policy of wresting Kashmir from India by fomenting trouble in the valley will never end. Pakistanis are like a dog whose tail you can put in a straight pipe for 10 years, but when you remove the pipe the tail will immediately go back to its curve. Even if you give them Kashmir on a platter, they will come back again and ask for Agra, Meerut, Moradabad, and so on. Don't kid yourself Mr. Modi, you should know better. Don't just show your teeth. Use them for what they are intended.

The BJP's inaction against Pakistan, contrary to the image of strength projected by the party, gave us Kargil during Mr. Vajpayee's tenure. Your inaction, Mr. Modi, is dragging us into a situation from which it would be almost impossible to extricate ourselves. Your overtures and gestures only make us look weak, and our inaction in response to daily nonstop provocations only emboldens the despicable Pakistani regime to further broaden the scope of their attacks. Pakistan is a failed state, and the hub of terrorism. India needs to learn from Israel--its policy of "if you kill one of us, we will kill one hundred" seems to work in the Middle East. Our nonviolence and restraint will only beget us greater violence, for these people do not understand the language of peace, in spite of Islam being the so-called "religion of peace".

India Goes to the Polls

The just-concluded national elections in India represent the hopes and aspirations of 1.2 billion, or one in six people living on our planet earth.

India is the world’s largest democracy, and the most complex. More than any other country, India represents a diversity of ethnic, linguistic, religious, and regional mix of people who exercise their democratic right to elect their government every few years.

Sometimes they get what they want, mostly they fail. Democracy gets hijacked by professional politicians, thugs, criminals and absentee landlords who spare no effort to ensure that people’s will is not reflected in the final outcome.

The new government has its work cut out for it—thanks to years of drift, extremely high level of corruption and lack of accountability. The issues of greatest concern which the new government will need to address immediately can be categorized in simple economic terms— on the supply side and on the demand side.

Governance deficit

The most important issue on the supply side is lack of governance. Governments are elected to provide governance. If they are unable to govern, as has been the case with the current UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government of Manmohan Singh, they have no moral right to remain in power.
All that he and his team have been keen on, so it appears, is to continue enjoying the perks of office without doing their job.

Troublingly, there has been very little governance in India even during the best of times, but the Manmohan Singh government has broken all records of non-governance (if there can be such a term) and drift. A new government, likely under the leadership of Narendra Modi, is expected to cap this governance deficit.

Corruption wherever you look

The second-most important issue before the new government will be corruption. It is widely believed that India is one of the most, if not the most, corrupt countries in the world. Left unchecked for too long by successive Indian governments, corruption has now seeped down to each and every level of society.

It would not be an exaggeration to say that corruption has become a part of our DNA. And yet, there were massive protests across India against corruption during 2011-12. These protests ultimately led to the birth of the Aam Aadmi Party (Common People’s Party), which swept to power in the local New Delhi elections four months ago, before it was forced to resign for lack of support on the floor of the assembly.

According to official statistics, the size of the Indian economy is approaching the $2 trillion level. According to an IMF report, World Economy Outlook, published in April 2013, the Indian GDP for the financial year 2012 was $1.8 trillion and was expected to be $1.9 trillion for the financial year ended 2013-2014.

The other economy

But there is another economy — the underground economy or black money, which is believed to be at least the size of the official economy, or even larger.

This is the money generated by corruption, money taken by politicians, money saved by not paying taxes, and money stolen from numerous government funds and projects like NREGA (National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) and the Food Security Bill, launched in 2013.

Most of this money is siphoned away to offshore bank accounts in Switzerland or Mauritius. Any new Indian government must institute adequate measures to tackle corruption and restore probity in public life.

It’s the infrastructure deficit, stupid

The infrastructure deficit is the third-most important problem that needs attention. India simply does not have the highways, the fast and efficient train network, ports and airports that any modern economy needs. As a result, it cannot handle the ever-increasing movement of goods and people from one part of the country to another.

In this area too, Mr. Modi’s commitment to create jobs and development projects will provide the vision and guidance to move in the right direction. And it will provide a benchmark, against which he must deliver — and will be evaluated against.

No discourse on contemporary India is complete without looking at the issue of gender. On the one hand, we have made great progress in achieving equality among the sexes. That is evident if one looks at the number of women who occupy important positions of status and power both in the public and private sectors.

On the other hand, crimes against women and girls continue to rise, largely due to government apathy and bureaucratic lethargy. The new government must act to ensure respect for women, and quick dispensation of justice for crimes against women.

What the Congress Party has wrought

The hopes and aspirations of the silent majority, over 800 million Indians whom development has bypassed, constitute the demand side of the Indian polity. Sixty years of governments headed by Congress — and hence its quasi monopoly on political power — has left this huge segment of the population earning less than 2 dollars a day.

For all the warm words spoken over the decades by the Gandhi clan, two-thirds of India’s population still waits for water, food, electricity, basic education and access to health/medical services.

This marginalized majority of the population and its conveniently overlooked needs are also part of democratic India. For too long, these people have only been the footnotes of Indian democracy, treated like vote-delivering herds of cattle . Come election time, and these vote banks are approached by professional politicians. The poor are the repositories of power.

Having got what they need, the politicians then do the disappearing act, and what remains visible until next election time is their arrogance. It’s a tragic dance ritual really: First, they cast their vote to elect the very representatives who then officially become their persecutors for the next five years.

Will it be different this time? One can only hope so. Decades of neglect and exploitation, dashed hopes and broken promises may finally bring about a rejection of the monopolizing, self-appropriating elites and dynastic families from the Indian political landscape.