Not a Jingoist

15^th August 2007 – 60^th anniversary of Indian independence and a sixty years of democracy. If I had to point a single person for these 60 years of sustained democracy , it had to be the father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi . Hadn’t been this person and his ideals of truth, equality and non-violence (which are certainly rooted deep in our own soul even if we fail to recognize it), we would have suffered the same fate as faced by some of the countries post their independence ( see the civil war faced by USA , tyrannous communist regime faced by USSR and its subsequent splitup and current instability in Zimbabwe under Robert Mugabe ).The lone and sole threat to our democracy from within came under Indira Gandhi regime but it was met with countervailence from Jai Prakash Narayan .

Well all this about our sweet democracy. Now have a look at our reportcard of these 60 years and see where we stand . Lets mull over all those spheres which define the status of a country .

First the political realm . When I do look at the political scenario of the USA , England or France , I feel ours is the worse but when you look at of Pakistan , Thailand , Argentina or even China , I get to feel it isn’t that bad . At least we have a government which is certainly not dictatorial and is responsible towards general people ( thanks to our media which acts as playmaker here ) . Our government still don’t have the clout to stage a coup ( as is always the case in Pakistan or Thailand ). But on the other hand constant scams , scandals , libeling and slandering against others prevent our government and ruling class from being closer to perfect or even good . Insatiable appetite for power , forcing them in illegal purchasing of votes or booth capturing , does no good either . My verdict here – average.

Come to Economy. IT boom , services sector surging , manufacturing skyrocketing We are certainly one of the biggest things happening in the world . A growth rate in excess of 9 , which is just next to China , says it all . But don't you think all these are just a fig leaf to hide something gloomy deep beneath . Have a look , of all the sectors agriculture has the least growth rate ,just about 4 . Our farmers are still committing suicide . Then get to the infrastructure - our roads still having numerous potholes , there are still places where people haven't had the taste of electricity , health services still inadequate . This is exactly what is preventing India from achieving growth rate as that of china . Now to "lobbying" of money . Recently when our PM expressed worries over the staggering salary being received by some of our CEOs , a wave of protest by CEOs and business houses flashed . Right after they started to show comparisons between salary of American executives and themselves but did they had the guts to show a comparison of a general Indian and American paycheck . No . Our PM’s statement was badly misconstrued. I don't have any objections on the affluence of CEOs nor do , I think , PM has but they need to channelize some money for the welfare of poor . Recently I got to know , from an article of a reputed magazine , that some of the top CEOs and top executives indulge themselves in siphoning of money to get rid of taxes . Now thats pathetic . They need to close the chasm between the 'Plebeians' and 'Patricians' and not widen it .My verdict - good but need improvements.

Now to sports . Cricket seems to the only sports hailed by Indians . In India the athletes are recognized only when they reach the top level in their sports. No proper grooming at young age or proper facilities at grassroot level to support them . Conservative nature of Indian parents coupled with cold shoulder of the government is doing no good to the future . No verdict needed here.

Science and Education . Our literacy rate is still hanging around 65% . Rural class a further back . Research facilities , even in the best institutions , are very poor . A rare progress in Space research , medical field or nuclear technology won't make up for the general deficiency.The only thing that stands out is that education , in top institutions ,is now oriented such that the students now tend to play the the role of employment creator , rather than job filler , after their education. My verdict here - average.

Last but one of equal importance - entertainment or cinema to be precise . From Dada Saheb Phalke to Yash chopra ,about 100 years . Ours' releases the maximum number of films . We have seen some excellent movies, artists , directors but still we have only two Oscars in the bag . We suffer from acute quality shortage . But I see a safe future for Bollywood in the hands of new mavericks taking the job of directors . Their non-conformist ideas and their dareness to show the truth of real life deserves serious attention . Perhaps these things existed before but were somehow not getting the attraction of global media , now they really do. My verdict - good.

Having said all these , I would like to mention here that I am not a Pessimist but I am certainly dismal of the way we progressed . I have often compared our country with developed countries in this blog which some might say is unfair but if we want to be the best we need to compete with the best . Here I would like to quote a sentence from one of my favorite movies , Swades " Ours' is not the best country but we certainly do have the ability to be the best ".

"Made in China" . Read it as " Buyers beware"

In the recent past , China has hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons (often or not China is in the news for wrong reasons ). The quality of Chinese products has always been has always been questioned by punters ( their low prices foments all the suspicion ) but seldom one does think them as life threatning.
The dog food products exported to USA , reported to have contained a cheap protein enhancing chemical melamin , proved fatal for many dogs there. In Panama , it were humans who had to loose their lives and this time by a syrup! which was meant to cure their cough and cold.Just now an American company sent back a consignment of tyres from China stating that it didn't fulfill the safety standards ( not surprised this time).
Even a decade or so back China's reportcard was not that glistening . The vaseline products exported to USA , UK and other European countries were tested positive for human parts . Its fortunate for me that I don't use those .
It seems Chinese exporters , who are already benefitting from the underevaluated Yuan , have an insatiable appetite for money which is driving them to all these. The mandarins also vacuously allow these products to be exported without verifying for their safety standards.Now to make up for loss in prestige, Chinese officials are running. They have reportedly shut down some 180 food producing factories . Well I don't think thats going to do it for them.
And with the race to acquire the topspot getting fierce , I don't think see such cases going down. So next time you buy a 'made in China' food product , first let your dog eat that!!! no, don't do that , better do'nt purchase that. Take 'Made in China' tag as "Buyers beware" or "poison" sign.

After you end reading this blog you would be a billionaire

Well how many of you have just started reading this blog to become a billionaire ,better you guys stop here because it was just to catch your eyes.
Everyday at and around noon ,during these holidays , there is one more thing other than this scorching heat that troubles me . That's the turgid and never ending Ekta Kapoor's 'k' - category serials ( say it 'killer ' or the 1st letter K that all her serials have ) . Tears down everyone's cheek is the quirkiest of these serials . My Mom , a fanatic of these serials, wouldn't allow me to surf then channel even during ad-break ,you know she might miss a part. But that's what has proved a blessing in disguise for me.
These gen-x ads are a joy to watch . The hottest question travelling in the TV world seems to be ' Melody itni chocolatey kyun hai ?' & the question that is strictly forbidden is ' hum Chlor mint kyun khate hai?' . Wonder whether thats the reason why Zidane head butted Mattarazzi . "dubara mat sochna".
And every time you eat bytes you got to learn two things one of which is necessarily "har snacks namkeen nahi hota" and other be "har kutte ka naam pranay nahi hota ",etc. There is a mobile network which sends Eskimos to a user's home when he searches for them. Next i'm going to search for Aishwarya Rai , you know what that means.
Well the thing these ads have in common is that they catch their eyes , they become cynosure of all eyes. And if you got to survive in this extremely competitive world you got to do all these things. And its not only MNCs or other companies that are using this strategy. Recently i read an article from a gentleman in UK that said that by launching a logo, London Olympic Committee was able save the millions of pound it would spent to catch the attention of public. Although he was making a jibe on errisome logo (which according to many is worst in its own type) but you cant deny the fact that London has got itself noticed.
Politics , now a full fledged industry in almost all countries. hasn't been untouched by this strategy too. Here's a very ingenious one - Hillary Clinton , in a video on You Tube, asked its users to suggest a logo or slogan for her political campaign. Almost every American ran for it. What a gimmick it was? Don't you think she has an adviser intelligent enough to plan his slogan.
I would say the one who are doing all these are the hot favorites to survive the competitive world. You got to hail these non-conformists for their ability to market ( and successfully) chocolates to a Politician . Simple marketing techniques are now obsolete .now no seriousness and all nonsense is what public want to see.