VOX POPULI
by
S Kamat
as
Aam Admi
Issue: 190 Date: 27.02.2017
Contents:
1. India’s Debacle Against Spin Bowling
2.
The Sad Story of BJP's
Sojourn In Governance
3.
Maximum Government,
Minimum Governance
India’s Debacle Against Spin Bowling
One cannot claim to be prescient considering
writing that we should moderate the praise on Virat Kohli just last week, since
after that India led by him went down in the Pune Test against Australia by 333
runs and that too within 3 days. The amusing part of this defeat was that the
Pune track was prepared for Indian spinners and which Steve Smith had roundly
criticized even before the match started stating that it was an under-prepared
pitch. Where the Australians in both innings set up respectable scores above
250 runs, India succumbed in both innings to the Aussie spin twins of Nathan
Lyon & O’Keefe for just about a 100 runs. What a fall there was, my
countrymen! The inability to handle spin is rather strange for Indian batsmen
since we are apart from having the best spinners in the game were reputed also to
have batsmen who play spin the best. This premise has actually been shattered
by the scoreline of the Pune Test which also takes you back to the 60’s when
the Aussies would visit India with their pace attack of Alan Davidson, Graham
McKenzie and Ian Meckiff which would run through the Indian top order like a
hot knife through butter with the famed leg-spinner Richie Benaud would not be able
to do much. But now the situation is the reverse with Indian batsmen able to
stand up to the pace of the Aussie fast bowlers maybe because of the protective
gear that they wear these days but completely at sea to the Aussie spinners. It
is not only with Aussie spinners. But lately any spinner who comes to India be
it Joe Root from England or the rookie spinner that South Africa had prior to
Tahrir, our batsmen tie themselves up in knots while playing them. Not only
does India do badly against them but they go back with their reputations
greatly enhanced having bearded the Indian lion in its own den. This is a
complete contrast to the past and logically should not have happened
considering that we still have the best spinners in the world with Ashwin,
Jadeja and Mishra. A time to introspect therefore for the Indian cricketing
community to assess whether it is a matter of technique or temperament
considering that most of the players particularly batsmen in the Test team also
play in the ODI’s and the T20’s where rash shots are part of the game since as
long as you get runs and do not get out, it is par for the game.
The Sad Story of BJP's Sojourn In Governance
The BJP in 2014 came to power with great expectations of providing
a governance that was different from the Congress regime which more or
less had a stranglehold on power since Independence. But its
performance in close to 3 years now has been fraught with indecisiveness, an
inability of tackling the economy and putting it on the path of high growth, a
tendency to get caught up in infructious debate on social issues, controversies
in education and not being able to combat the disenchantment in youth and to
provide them jobs.
The BJP sooner it started in government opened its innings on the
secularism issue and for lack of a desire or inability to look at the other
picture was branded logically as 'intolerant'. The debate and controversies on
this matter that captured the public mind for months was without substance on
the part of the incumbent government and a broader mind would have doused the
issues that arose quickly since they were no longer relevant and were giving a
bad public image. Linked to this was the beef eating issue where again it was
important to recognise that diet is a matter of personal choice and has nothing
to do with religion unless you deliberately intend to put those labels. Many
died because of the intolerance towards this meat eating practice since the BJP
leadership failed to lay down the line and their lower echelons presumed
silence meant approval of their activities to harass and terrorise beef eaters.
After that universities were converted to hotbeds of activism with
one must say deliberate provocation by the then Education Minister whose
educational qualifications were itself in doubt. Centres of learning like
IIT's, major universities and IIM's were meddled with in terms of their
policies and management board appointments resulting in a saffronisation of
these institutions. With the lack of ability at the top, these institutions
tended to lose their reputation and allowed small issues to assume dramatic and
mammoth proportions. The educational campuses around the country are in ferment
currently with the ABVP jockeying for dominant positions which is normal in
a student environment. India has seen much worse during the Naxalite movement
and later the Mandal agitation. But the difference this time has been that the
faculty and the administration has been taking sides which is making the
situation more complex and difficult to tackle and resolve. What is
more disappointing is that senior BJP leaders are spreading the canard
that terror is starting from the universities. In the present campus
disturbances at Delhi, the Finance Minister, I&B Minister and the Minister
of State for Home have been making public statements trying to cow down the
other students unions apart from the ABVP which is sad since the principle to
be followed here should have been students will be students and not give too
much political weight to these matters.
Crimes against women continue to dot the country similar in
heinousness and depravity to the Nirbhaya case in Delhi. The ball in this case
continues to be thrown between the Centre and the States considering that law
and order is a State subject. But in the meanwhile the rape statistics of the
country keeps escalating with the victims ranging from 6 months to 70 years and
the offenders from 12 years to 70 years. We cannot continue to blame the image
of women in India which depicts them as completely dependent on men and
therefore they are considered as objects for the satisfaction of men. There
should have been concerted efforts to change the mindset of men, to stop the
objectification of our women in cinema and TV, provide facilities to assist
women in danger and to dramatically speeden and enhance the punishment of
rapists. Nothing like this is being done and even the Nirbhaya fund set up is
seen to have spent practically no money allotted to it.
Consider foreign policy now where today we must be having the
worst relations with our neighbours in the past 50 years or more. Forget
Pakistan and China with whom our relations have always been antagonistic, we
have not been able to maintain relations with Nepal, a country that has more
reasons to be indebted to us than any other. After the blockade for which
the Nepalese government blamed India relations with that country have
plummeted to lows not seen earlier. It is not all India's fault but then an
effort could have been made to be more equable in the relationship. What has
happened as a consequence is that China has taken advantage of the situation
and come in posing as a saviour of Nepal. China on its march to reach the blue
seas and thereby seek to control the Indian Ocean has made inroads into
Bangladesh and Sri Lanka at the cost of India. Arming Pakistan and
developing the port in the Indian Ocean there along with ports in Maldives and
Bangladesh, the Chinese strategy rather than the string of pearls that it is
promoting its ports in these seas is nothing but to encircle India. Instead of
combating this devious strategy of China we continue to play
tweedledee-tweedledum with them and be obsessed with border demarcations and
the dams that country is building on the upper reaches of the river
Brahmaputra. The day the carpet is pulled out from under India will we realise
that we have been nicely had by China. With the rest of the world we claim
relations are on a high like the US, UK and Europe. With Donald Trump becoming
President his stand on India needs to be carefully assessed since maybe he
himself does not know where he stands on the issue. With his comments on
America for Americans and insistence that American jobs should go to American
people it may be that the day is not far off when more than 300,000 Indians in
the US may be heading for home. If that happens it may help us to become the
No.1 software power in the world! Relations with the U.K. are on a similar
basis like that with the US since with Brexit when they themselves do not know
what will happen to their country, what kind of relations can they assure us?
Europe has always not been great with India except when there is a need to
buttress their trade which is a tenet that they strictly follow. Dealing thus
with their own problems within the EC they may not have much time for India.
The position on Russia is no different since with internal change dominating
the country it will keep relations with India on an even keel maintaining them
for the sake of tradition but nothing more. Other than nation to nation
relations the other thing that is bugging India in the arena of foreign
relations is the admission to the NSG. This will not happen unless India agrees
to sign the NPT. There is no logic for the NSG member countries to give membership
to India on the promise of using nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and
quoting its track record in that area. For the NSG countries this does not
hold water since knowing the fact that India possesses the nuclear bomb, there
is no guarantee that a new government may not authorise its use. Promises on
these matters do not help. Therefore harping on NSG membership without
signing the NPT is a big no-no for the NSG members led by China. Further
one has to note that the basis of seeking NSG membership being to move ahead
with the civil nuclear program to generate electricity, we have to recognise
that the US which has been wanting to sell the new nuclear reactors to India be
it of GE or Westinghouse or in tie-up with Toshiba are themselves not wanting to
install the same reactors in their own country for fear of safety issues and
the public opposition after the accidents at Three Mile Island and other
locations in the US. If we buy these reactors we will again be made the guinea
pigs of the experiments of the developed world. Thus you see the foreign policy
arena for India is like a minefield fraught with many dangers which Sushma
Swaraj as Foreign Minister, if she was fully fit, would have been able to
handle but with her ailing now, it will lead to many gaps in our relations
with countries around the world. She can also do without the theatrics of
Narendra Modi in foreign relations and which country he can drop in to have tea
with its Prime Minister, he should check with her first and not create the embarrassment
we have had with Pakistan where relations have been put back by a decade
because of the antics of Narendra Modi.
The problem with the BJP in summary has been that it suffers from
a lack of depth of leaders who have the capability and also command a public
reputation and presence. We have seen this in the appointment of ministers
where there are many in the present Council of Ministers who are not competent
to hold their positions. Narendra Modi realised this when he made changes in a
cabinet reshuffle in the recent past. After the upcoming election results in
the Ides of March it is expected that there would be another juggling of the
cabinet depending on the results to either consolidate the gains or winnow some
of the deadwood in the Cabinet.
In terms of posturing for three years now the
BJP continues to be in election mode with the emphasis being to win over most
of the States which would get them a more equitable position in the Rajya Sabha
where presently they are not able to pass any Bill because they do not have the
strength of MP's which is currently held by the Opposition. Thus any bill that
the BJP wants to pass flounders in the Rajya Sabha and thus cannot become
law. That is the reason why the BJP prefers the Ordinance route for most legislation
including the famous demonetisation exercise. In contrast Barrack Obama for the
majority of his two terms as President did not have the control of both Senate
and the House of Representatives and whether it was his Healthcare bill or any
other it would get serious opposition and in fact most of the Bills would not
get passed into law. In spite of that when it was time for Obama to step down
he was considered one of the best presidents that the US had ever had
considering the achievements during his two terms. In a similar vein Narendra
Modi or the BJP throughout these three years or so have not seriously reached
out to the Opposition and tried to work with them to pass legislation. Most of
the time has been spent in bickering and stupid name-calling which one must
admit is not restricted to the BJP alone but to almost all parties which has
brought down the name of Indian Parliament and its proceedings have degenerated
to the noise that one sees in the fish market or to elevate them a bit to
the share markets of yore. Sometimes one thinks that the BJP has missed the
point that they have a responsibility to govern the country and not play
point-counterpoint games with the Opposition parties mostly the Congress who
happen to have some 40 odd MP's only in the Lok Sabha!
In conclusion it is sad to say that for the BJP to rule the
country in a satisfactory manner it will take another decade or more during
which time it has to seriously concentrate in developing a cadre of capable
leaders who command respect and not have to throw their weight around to get
themselves to be heard.
Maximum Government, Minimum Governance
When Narendra Modi came to power in 2014 on the back of a
resounding majority for the BJP in Parliament he had promised minimum
government and maximum governance. But if you look at the situation since that
time and particularly after 8th Nov 2016 you will find quite the opposite. We
will deal with the situation that has arisen post-demonetisation.
First the government defacto took over the RBI, an
autonomous institution, after withdrawing 87% of the currency notes in
circulation of the Rs 500 & 1000 denomination on 8th Nov 2016 and ran
it until the middle of Dec 2016 when finally the
Governor, Urjit Patel found his voice to reiterate that RBI was still
functioning and whole. Subsequently the RBI made a record of sorts by issuing
56 circulars in 50 days. This was construed as bad management but then the RBI
and government response to that accusation was that such micro-management was
required to show that they were 'sensitive' to people's needs. However, the
confusion such sensitivity caused the common citizens has been experienced by
one and all and needs no elaboration.
Clarity in monetary policy is important for both
individuals as well as business entities. Changing regulations and the paucity
of cash resulted in an indirect control of the spending of both individuals
which clearly was an encroachment on the fundamental rights of citizens as
enshrined in the Constitution and for business entities, some of which have had
to close down unable to handle the lack of cash to pay workers and
suppliers.
Compounding this was the puzzling position that the Income Tax Dept. was taking from time to time. In the initial days after 8th Nov 2016 the common knowledge with people was that if you deposited Rs. 50,000 or more into your bank account then the eyes of the IT Dept. would be upon you. This was consistent with the earlier rule that beyond this limit you needed to declare your PAN No. As days went by it was said that if you deposit more than Rs. 2 Lakhs not your account then the IT guys would be behind your back. In a few weeks thereafter the limit was changed to Rs. 2.5 Lakhs. It was also not clarified whether only those depositing such amounts at one time would attract the IT attention or was this figure the aggregate amount of deposits over the period 10th Nov - 31st Dec 2016 by any entity.
Here again the lack of clarity led to the creation of uncertainty and the sowing of the fear bogie among common citizens.
Parallely you had ads in the newspapers and over the radio and TV
that you need to declare your unaccounted income under one scheme or another to
avoid further penalties and possible imprisonment. In the interim we had ads
also asking people to tell on their neighbours who they believed were not
paying IT which even Narendra Modi exhorted people to do in his speeches. It
was also being hunted that it was patriotic to tell tales against others. This
was clearly putting people against each other and the tendency of looking
suspiciously at or avoiding your friend or neighbour if you were spotted making
a hi-value purchase became common. There had been such a scheme earlier with
the IT Dept. But the difference now was that it was being given wide publicity
and you were being told if was your 'national duty'. THe government was
engendering the feeling of mistrust among people where it should have been
promoting unity in diversity.
Then sooner the New Year had dawned we were told that the IT Dept.
was sending email and SMS notices to some 18 Lakh entities and people were
encouraged to respond to these notices otherwise........... Here again there
was a confusion whether the notices were being sent to those depositing Rs. 2
Lakhs or Rs. 2.5 Lakhs, though finally the IT Dept. seems to have settled down
to the latter figure. To maybe show the great efficacy with which the IT Dept.
was functioning newspaper headlines announced that actually 1 crore entities
were under the IT scanner as if 18 Lakhs had not whetted their appetite. Thus a
scare syndrome was being generated. But at the same time from election pulpits
Narendra Modi roared that honest people had nothing to worry. So was the PM
hinting that there were a clear 1 crore dishonest people apart from the Vijay
Mallyas and all those responsible for the lakhs of crores of NPA's at our
banks. If honest people were not to worry, why were 75 year old people who were
not liable to pay income tax for the last 10 years getting notices? Why were IT
notices being slapped on elderly women vegetable vendors in Panjim market? You
can only imagine the trauma and distress on the part of senior citizens and
illiterate women to explain to the IT Dept. that they had done nothing wrong.
Was the data mining bot with the IT guys running completely haywire?
Arun Jaitley had avowed that the government wants to expand the
tax payers base which in India is abysmally low compared to developed
countries. In one of his comments he had cited the example of how the number of
cars sold in 2015 in the country were higher than the number of taxpayers. Such
comments lack maturity since cars are available in installment payments and the
income of a family unit to which a car still belongs may have multiple wage
earners out of which just one of two may be liable for tax while they may own
two or more cars. Other than that as cited earlier if the IT Dept. Is going
after the 1 crore entities, has it verified how many of these are already in
the tax net and harassing them unduly may have the contra effect of them
jumping to the other side of the fence. Thus should not the data mining bot
have been fine tuned to sort out those depositors from the 1 crore entities who
are not in the tax net and go after them in the initial instance if the
intention was to widen the tax payer base. It is anticipated that the task
before the IT Dept. being monumental this whole exercise will end up being
counter productive and will rub people the wrong way. Expanding the tax base
should have been done diligently, systematically and over a period of
time rather than as an offshoot of the large deposits come in
post-demonetisation.
This apart there is licence and inspector
raj everywhere around you be it in business, centres of learning and
every sphere of social activity. The latest being curbs on spending at weddings
as proposed which is wrong. Since who is the government to tell the
people how much they should spend on their children's wedding? Is it
not the prerogative of the parents to do that? Everyone according to their
means and spending ability should be the principle.
Thus nowadays if you speak or raise a voice in
protest against any government policy or measure, you will first find
the IT behind you and then it will be the ED or FEMA as appropriate
to silence you. This what the country has come to - Maximum Government, Minimum
Governance.
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