Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Turning Bad Publicity Around


Bad publicity is not always bad, provided it is responded to by either correcting erroneous facts or taking steps to counter it.

Response to Kerala Attach on AAP offices:

The way the Kerala AAP members responded to the AAP office being thrashed (terrible) because of statements made by Kumar Vishwas (bad) was brilliant (good).


AAP response

The response demonstrated the epitome of restraint and a powerful response that speaks loud and clear. This is Gandhigiri at its best. This is the “culture” that AAP has to inculcate in its supporters. Respond with “Brain” not with “Brawn”

The President’s Addess:


The President made an excellent speech on the eve of  Republic Day. Instead of getting “bent out of shape” and “defensive” about it an effective measured response would have been that the Prez has made a good speech that should heeded to by all Political Parties and the government. But it appears it is most applicable to his own Party that has been in power for the last nine years. His party has perfected the art of developing a “dependent culture” by doling out “subsidies” instead of providing opportunities for people to earn decent wages. The number of scams that have rocked the UPA is unprecedented.

The Vinod Kumar Binny Saga:

If Binny had expressed his disappointment of not being included in the Cabinet, and emphasized that he is willing to serve the party in any way he can, then that would have been acceptable. But Binny’s subsequent statements and behaviour (bad) has given an opportunity for AAP to showcase what it will not tolerate and amplify what is expected of its members.

Not everyone will agree on an issue, and some people may not even like each other, but all have to work towards a goal that is larger than themselves. Members should cooperate in achieving that goal and commit to be good soldiers by performing the tasks that is assigned to them and get it done in an ethical manner. Binny put himself before the larger goal.

Disagreements should be checked at the door:


Disagreements and arguments have to be aired in closed meeting and checked at the door when leaving the room. Decisions taken after discussions and debate have to be agreed to by everyone. This is called “Disagree and Commit”. It is perfectly OK for a person to state their opposition or disagreement with a decision, but once it is decided, everyone has to commit to it. Dissenters should refrain from scuttling the decision.

Thursday, January 23, 2014

AK, AAP kya karna chatey ho?

Dear AK,

Metaphorically, a few months ago you were in the stands protesting against "Cricket Matches" that were mired in "bad umpiring", "match fixing" and "favouritism". You were "right on". You were on the "outside" and . Now you have arrived with significant "political capital" by way of support from your supporters an fans.

Having legitimately become a player, "in the game", you have entered a new phase to bring "fairness" and "transparency" into this game and rid it of all the ills that have plagued it.The world applauds you and your parties accomplishments.

However, as a "player" you can't throw down your "bat" and "ball" and go back to the stands and protest from the stands anymore. There are policies and procedures available to "players" to have their grievances addressed. And it is true these very policies and procedures are rigged in favour of the "entrenched", in order to make it hard for new comers to change. 

So now that you are not only a "player", but a member of the "committee" that makes policy, your fight should be in the "boardroom", while your supporters and fans cheer and protest (if necessary) from the "stands" while the game continues.

It appears to some that you want to change the game itself. Like from cricket to "gilly danda" and it appears you want to make "gilly danda" the new game devoid of all the ills that plagued the game of cricket. This has many people participating in the cricket world worried. Besides players, there are a number of supporting services and organizations involved. They too are worried. There are good players, supporting services, organizations and bad. The worry is that in the process of cleaning up, the "Jaadu" may sweep away the "good" along with the "bad". AAP has to acknowledge that the game of cricket is "sacrosanct", and is need of a major "clean up". If the focus were to shift from "Test Matches", (which besides the "the umpires" no one actually watches the entire game), to 20/20 and give credence to "mohalla cricket" people would welcome it. So instead of engaging in "cricket bashing" the move to improve the game at all levels would resonate among all the "good fans" of the game in India.

Furthermore, your fans and supporters in the "Stands" have been too unruly at times and that just gives the perception that they are no different from the fans and supporters of the "entrenched" teams. AAP could set an example of not stooping to the level of your adversaries. By all means let them engage in "Sit In" Dharnas and indicate their dissatisfaction with the status quo. But implore and insist that they do so in a disciplined and non-violent manner.

Going into the stands with "bat and ball. fully padded up" was a neat little trick. The fans loved it, they even went berserk. They felt AK pulled another "rabbit out of his hat". It is great that you got away with it. But what about the not so Aam Aadmi, the one's who pony up significant amounts of money. They too have a stake in AAP. They are counting on your continued success to shake up the game to make it "fair and equitable." That is their agenda. What do they think of this? They too have to be served.

Open Letter to AK from J. Shriyan, Suratkal


Respected Shri Arvind Kejriwalji

Greetings of the New Year. Hope and wish the new year holds out all its promises that you have in your mind for the aam aadmi and your party AAP.

India, our motherland recognizes that you have arrived. Arrived with a bang. Legislators have confirmed that you will be allowed to function at least in the short run. So you will be left with the job of management or as it is called, in the public space, governance.

You are a highly educated and motivated person and hence not much has to be told to you. I have been following you up since quite some time with keen interest in your rise. Hope one day, your baby AAP makes its presence felt in the corridors of power in the parliament. I am sure, Indians will be fortunate enough to witness it, in your own life time. That you will grow in size and stature is never in doubt, since there is a whole lot of youth and even older persons who are comfortable with you, your brand of politics and AAP. So the rise of AAP is guaranteed.

Of course, the governance in political administration is not a rocket science as you rightly say. Anybody can do it, with a little amount of understanding of problems and its economics. If the intention is good, all will fall in its place, slowly and steadily. However, there is this English saying “Haste is waste”. Surely all of us are in a hurry to do things which we all feel should be done, either for one’s own good or for the general good. But being in hurry also causes, at times, avoidable problems and accidents. We could just stamp on somebody else’ foot, in our haste, who would have all reasons to complain. Of course, media should not play truant, since many a time it can be fickle for its own TRP/USP, as we have witnessed in the recent days some can be friendly, some can be hostile and some can be just matter of fact.

However, seeing media intervention, interlocution in both print and electronic media, it is generally felt that there are rough and blunt edges that you need to change for better. Unlike anyone else, you, Arvind, is in sharp focus.

Fortunately for AAP, you have one of the nation’s finest interlocutors in Yogendra Yadav. His dignified presence, ability to talk analytically and with robust sense has endeared him to most Indians. He should be seen as a national spokesperson for AAP in the short run. He will have a sobering effect, both on anchors and opposition representatives in the media interaction.

That you are honest, is beyond doubt. But you are too direct and at times attacking. Urge to attack the untruth and wrong is natural to someone as committed and honest as you are. But, it always pays to be nice to opposition views and opposition speakers.

One of the very important issue is of corruption. Treat corruption as an issue without naming any party or individual. It helps to build bridges among differing perceptions. The stand that ‘I am clean, and you are bad’, creates disquiet. You are interested in issues and hence talk only of issue without naming anybody, who in your view may be responsible. By naming, you are only inviting hackles which can impede your smooth ride.

You always keep quoting Mahatma Gandhi. Mahatma was always insisting on improvement rather than punishment. Hence say, what is wrong, rather than who is wrong. May be the person, who is wrong in your assessment, may join you, in correcting the wrong, if you do not attack him, or name him. After all your goal is good and clean governance. If all help your cause, what’s your problem? Try to take everybody on board. Remember your own words “28 MLAs cannot handle the situation, to solve the problems of Delhi. Entire Delhi has to come together. That will happen later, but at least all 70 members should have coordination” while thanking for Lt. Governor’s address. Even the most criminal deserve to be heard in our democratic polity. Your adversaries are issues, problems, troubles etc. Concentrate only on issues than saying both BJP and Congress are corrupt or BSP and SP are in the same boat. What you are saying may be true but that stand will not help your cause in the short run and in the long run it can create hurdles, humps & road blocks. You will spend both money and time to overcome these completely avoidable management of trouble and trouble makers. There is no point in making any political party your adversary or your enemy. You must always opt for a course of least resistance. Surely your parents could play a role in making you see the truth of the above proposition.

Just the other day, after your announcement of going national for the April 2014 election, there was this interaction with Rajdeep Sardesai of CNN/IBN:, where your representative Rahul, called both Congress and BJP as truly bad parties, which could have been avoided, whatever the provocation. This attitude will neither win friends or influence people. However to a very pointed question “whether Narendra Modi or Congress is your enemy, fortunately Rahul took the middle road by stressing we are fighting for a corruption free India and to give a people centric governance that is our agenda and is not focused on either Modi or Congress. This was a measured response, unlike the earlier one.

TuTu-Mai Mai – is a traditional ways of most political parties. AAP should cause a culture shift by not stooping to their level, since AAP is not a traditional political party. The recent happenings involving your law minister Bharti could have been differently managed with least bitterness and to better effect.

Your latest agitationist politics of taking to the street is not a right thing for a Chief Minister to do. Not sure, if this will win you friends and influence people. All your points could have been discussed with the Lt. Governor and leave the agitation to your party and MLAs. Even if you are to go for agitation, as a last resort, could have kept LG in the loop.

Coming to requesting some respected names among traditional parties, AAP should approach children of late Lal Bahadur Shastri, a truly Aam Aadmi icon, to become part of AAP, and surely there are many. By not accusing these parties, job of AAP becomes easier for approaching these clean souls who would truly make a difference in public space, given an opportunity.

Kindly do not take this as lecturing or being sanctimonious. I am senior to you in age. And it is well meant. I have no axe to grind at all. I am as much in love with the Bharath, our motherland, as anybody else and deeply distressed at the abysmal state of some of socio/economic sectors of our country. I am a staunch supporter of affirmative actions by the state like empowerment. And despite being an OBC, I have never taken any socio-economic benefits of reservation. My view is reservation & freebies have made people dependent. Our policy initiative should be to empower people. Development should be empowerment centric. This is my firm belief. Reservation, if any should be on financial status rather than caste, tribes, religion etc.

Reservation has always been used as vote bank politics, rather than a welfare measure, in the present scheme of things. There has to be a study on what benefits these plethora of reservation and benefits have done to our people for all these 60 years. Sooner or later they all have to be phased out to truly make people self dependent by making education and health as priority in development initiative. It is a short communication hence not right for me to go on and on. If needed a paper can be separately submitted. I end with a firm belief, that you are what Krishna said to Arjuna in the battlefield of Kurukshetra, and you could be the “Sambhavaami Yuge Yuge”.


Yours in admiration & respect

Kejriwal’s Delhi Dharna – This is not anarchy, Mr Home Minister, This is Revolution

Avay Shukla has every right to write and say what he wishes. 

http://hillpost.in/2014/01/kejriwals-delhi-dharna-this-is-not-anarchy-mr-home-minister-this-is-revolution/97741/

However, distributing Avay's article under the auspices of AAP is troublesome. There are many good points raised. Regards "Objective Issues" it is good. Regarding "Subjective Opinions" it is venomous and in very poor taste. Surely you don't want AAP to stoop to the level of its adversaries. Mud slinging begets more mud slinging.

What AK and AAP have accomplished is historic and unprecedented. By comparing the AAP accomplishment to the French Revolution or Tahir Square just dilutes the issue. 

The AAP is the ONLY party that has successfully used democratic means to come to power and is in a position to make a difference.

DON'T BLOW IT!!!

Let me explain "experiments" in Democracy that have taken place recently:

1. The US tried to impose Democracy in Iraq. The disastrous results are obvious.
2. The Arab spring started in Tunisia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_Spring. In Tunisia there is ongoing protest against an Islamist led government. They seem to have got rid of one problem and inherited another.
3. The Egypt Spring has morphed into a Military Winter
4. There was an uprising in Libya and the chaos continues.
5. In the US Tea Party candidates came to power in 2010 as part of Republican Party. Since then there has been major internal disagreements between the Tea Party renegades and main stream Republicans. It has been dubbed internal Civil War.
6. The "Occupy Movement" in the US has been leaderless and rudderless. It has pretty much died.
7. Syria is a mess.
8. Protests in Thailand have not been effective. Now emergency has been clamped
9. There is violence in the streets of Kiev, Ukraine and there is no resolution in sight.
10. In Turkey there has been violent protests towards the administration for implementing an Islamic Agenda.

Avay Shukhla's article is reproduced here in its entirety:

Kejriwal’s Delhi Dharna – This is not anarchy, Mr Home Minister, This is Revolution

By Avay Shukla, Retired IAS

What we are witnessing in Delhi today is historic – for the first time since Independence a legitimate political party has refused to play by the rules that all political parties in India have battened on for sixty-five years; for the first time a State Government has taken on the Central Government at its own doorstep; for the first time a Chief Minister and his entire Cabinet are sitting in protest in their own capital; for the first time their own police force is ranged against them in their thousands.

The immediate reason for this may be the demand for the suspension of five police officials, but the actual reason is more basic, and fundamental to any democracy — accountability of the rulers to the ruled.
The rulers are not just the politicians and the bureaucrats – they are also the larger constituency that benefits from the present status quo: the industrialists, the TV and news organisations, the “cognoscenti”, the “glitterati”, the South Delhi socialites, the “intelligentsia” that makes a nice living by appearing nightly on TV panel discussions: in short, all those who are comfortable with the status quo.
They have, with the assistance of disgruntled elements like Kiran Bedi and Captain Gopinath, unleashed a veritable barrage of abuse and condemnation against Kejriwal and his party over the last week, terming him a Dictator, Anarchist, Chief Protestor, Law-breaker and so on.
It is because they feel genuinely threatened by the forces that the AAP has unleashed, the ethical standards that it has prescribed and demonstrated, the personal examples that its leaders have shown. Because they know that if these paradigms become the norm of a new India then the sand castles that these privileged reside in shall come crumbling down in no time.
And so they accuse Kejriwal of not following prescribed conventions, protocol or procedure and thus encouraging anarchy. Let us look at just three of these alleged transgressions:
1. Law Minister Somnath Bharti asking for a meeting of judicial officers of Delhi. What is improper about this? Isn’t the judiciary a part of the government – funded, staffed, appointed by the state.
Yes, it is operationally independent of the government (as it should be) but it is certainly not a holy cow whose performance cannot be questioned, or monitored, by the people of this country through their elected representatives.
The judiciary is meant to serve the people, just as the bureaucracy is, and it cannot have internal accountability only. An elected government has to have the right to review its performance, especially given the pathetic state of the disposal of cases in courts.

In my view Mr. Bharti was within his rights to take a meeting of judicial officers to assess the shortcomings of the system (which is the first step to removing these shortcomings). Yes, he could have routed the request through the High Court, but this was a trivial error and certainly not the grievous violation that the media made it out to be. 
To the contrary, the Law Minister should be lauded for his initiative in seeking to address the issue instead of washing his hands of it as ALL LAW MINISTERS OF THIS COUNTRY HAVE DONE SO FAR, as if the collapse of the judicial redressal system was no concern of the government!
——-
2. Subsidies on water and power to small consumers in Delhi (something for which Kejriwal has been contemptuously branded a populist). Really?
The Central Government dishes out more than 160000 crores worth of subsidy every year on just three schemes (Mid-day Meals, MNREGA and Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan). Just about every state gives subsidies on water and power.

Here’s something Mr. Arnab Goswami and his kind should consider: the Golf Club in New Delhi which has about 4000 privileged members (all of whom are now arraigned against Kejriwal) has been given 250 acres of the most expensive real estate in the country worth 60000 crores for a paltry lease of about Rs. 15 lakhs per annum. 
The annual return on Rs. 60000 crores should be at the very least Rs. 6000 crores: in effect, what this means is that every member of the Golf Club is being given a subsidy of Rs. 1.50 crores every year! The same is the case with the Gymkhana Club, another watering hole for the rich, the famous, and the now scared.
According to the latest report of the RBI, the total non-performing assets (NPA) of the Banks in India is more than Rs. 1.60 lakh crores.
NPA is just a euphemism for what the Vijay Mallyas and the Captain Gopinaths of the world owe to the aam aadmi (and refuse to pay) while flying all over the world in their private jets and pontificating in TV studios on the correct form of governance. Is it “populism” if indulged in by Kejriwal, and “entitlement” and “economic surge” when practiced by others ?
——-
3. Somnath Bharti’s (Kejriwal’s Law Minister) mid-night visit to Khirkee village has generated so much misinformation, ignorance of the law, reverse racism and hypocritical harangues that it is sickening. 
Shorne of all this, what does the entire incident amount to? Merely this: a Minister, in response to complaints by residents (which are on record, as is the police inaction on them for months) of a locality personally visits the spot and asks the police to take immediate action by raiding the building where illegal activities are taking place.
The police refuse and insult the Minister. This is the essence of the matter.
All the rest – search warrants, lack of female police, racism, urinating in public, cavity search(!) [the latest addition to the shrinking vocabulary of Ms. Meenakshi Lekhi] etc.- are red herrings and a smoke screen which no doubt the judicial Inquiry Commission shall see through.
How was the Minister wrong in asking the police to take action? Is it a Minister’s job to simply sit in an air-conditioned office and write on files? (a question which Kejriwal has asked and to which we are still waiting for an enlightened response from Ms. Barkha Dutt and gang).

Does the police require a search warrant to enter a place where they have reason to believe that illegal activities are going on? Really, Mr. Salve?
If so, then how do you explain their barging into the house in the Batla House encounter and shooting three people, WITHOUT A SEARCH WARRANT? Or their constant nocturnal forays into the poor whore-houses of GB Road whenever they are short of spending money? 
——-
No, sir, the opposition to Kejriwal from the BJP and the Congress, from the Arnab Goswamis, Rajdeep Sardesais, the Barkha Dutts, the Kiran Bedis, from the Editors of English dailies, from the captains of industry, from the Single Malts and Bloody Marys of Gymkhana and Golf Clubs, does not stem from any illegality or impropriety on his part, or from any ideological differences between them.
It stems from their complete and total failure to comprehend what Kejriwal is and what he stands for. It stems also from the deep social divide between the upper crust of society( who are happy with the status quo where their money, power and contacts can ensure them a comfortable life) and the masses below them who have to daily bear the brunt of the system inspired corruption, harassment, inconvenience and indignity that the present dispensation guarantees them.
This (hitherto unacknowledged and invisible) divide becomes clear when we compare the editorial slants of the English and Hindi channels in the coverage of the ongoing protests: the former are virulently anti AAP and only pop up panelists who support that view, while the latter appear to be more understanding of what AAP is trying to do.
Those who are denouncing Kejriwal for being an autocrat, anarchist, activist and for protesting at Raisina Road are missing the most obvious point of his movement – THAT KEJRIWAL WILL NOT PLAY BY THEIR RULES ANY MORE.
As they say in Las Vegas – you can’t beat the house, because the dice are loaded against you. Everyone wants him to play with their set of dice  which they mysteriously call the Constitution and the CRPC!) but Kejriwal wants to play with his own dice, hence the confrontation.
They want him to pass a joint resolution of the Assembly for bringing the police under the Delhi govt.-he’s smart enough to see that the resolution will be thrown into the same waste paper basket where presumably the Ordinance on protecting convicted MPs was consigned by Rahul Gandhi.
They want him to be a good boy and take his dharna to Jantar Mantar where all civilised protests begin and inevitably end, while the govt. of the day can get on with its gerrymandering uninterrupted-he knows that unless he disrupts the comfortable existence of the bourgeois he may as well relieve himself in the Yamuna for all the difference he will make.
They want him to sit in the Secretariat and be guided by his bureaucrats and lose all touch with reality- he won’t fall for this Pavlovian routine. They desperately want him to become one of them, red light, siren, gun-toting commandos, Lutyen’s bungalow and all- he knows that if he falls for this he loses his USP and becomes just an intern in this hoary club of gnarled sinners.
They want him to follow the script co-authored by all the political parties of the day, not one excluded, because this script contains an agreed-upon plot, wherein politicians make noises but don’t act against each other, wherein corruption is just a sound-bite, where dynastic succession is a silently accepted sine qua non, where no one is interested in finding out whether the hundreds of proved Swiss bank accounts contain anything other than Swiss chocolates – Kejriwal, however, wants to write his own script with substantial inputs from the aam aadmi, not from the Ambanis or the Radias or the Shobhna Bhartias.
They want him to talk about corruption but not do anything about it, something Manish Tewari’s poetic flair would term “willing to wound but afraid to strike”, an attitude as old as Chanakya and Kautilya which offers all of us a catharsis via the good offices of Arnab Goswami and little else- but Kejriwal is no respecter of Machiavelli or Chanakya, his vocabulary is limited because he can only call a spade a spade, he is colour blind because he can only see in black and white (the shades of greys can be left for the likes of Manu Singhvi), and therefore he insists on striking, not just talking.
Is there any cause for surprise, therefore, at why the present dispensation, both in and out of government, is rattled by this five foot four inch “insect” from Ghaziabad? He is neither fish nor fowl, he defies understanding.
The establishment has made the supreme mistake of trying to counter him by quoting the rules of the game (loaded in the former’s favour, naturally!) they are past masters of- but Kejriwal has changed the rules, and now they don’t know how to control him or neutralise him.
For the time being only Kejriwal knows the new rules, and he is springing them on the carpet baggers one by one, catching them by surprise all the time.
Forget the English TV channels-they rarely get anything right. Forget the Manish Tewaris, the Kiran Bedis, the FICCI spokespersons, the Minakshi Lekhis- they are either scared witless or rank opportunists. What they all do have in common, however, is that they have failed to see how the common man-the aam aadmi-are gathering behind this dimunitive man with the perpetual cough.
The sincerity, integrity and commitment of this man is phenomenal, his capacity to harness the anger and frustration of the people is limitless. His defiance of accepted conventions and interpretations is not anarchy – it is nothing short of a revolution. When the people have had enough of injustice, callousness and indignity, they will not play by the rules of the rulers-they will make new rules.
The French Revolution would not have happened if the existing rules had been followed. Tehrir Square would not have happened if everyone swore by the old rules. Changing the rules, Mr. Home Minister, is not anarchy – it is the beginning of a people’s revolution.
The sooner we realise this the less pain in the transition, the less violence. No matter how the stand-off in Delhi ends – capitulation by the Home Minister and the Police, withdrawal of support by the Congress, imposition of President’s Rule, police violence on the protesters and their eviction – one thing is certain: Kejriwal is going nowhere.
He, and his paradigms, are here to stay and haunt our rulers. With his uncanny understanding of the pulse of the people he has re-written the rules of politics and governance.
There are now only two options Kejriwal has left the ruling class – either they change, or the people will change them.

Avay Shukla retired from the Indian Administrative Service in December 2010. He is a keen environmentalist and loves the mountains- he has made them his home.

Monday, January 20, 2014

To FDI or not to FDI in Retail

The feedback I get on AAP is that the decision makers have no business experience. Another criticism I have heard is that AAP does not have an economic policy. 

In my opinion, the anti-FDI stance taken by AAP is pro Kirana Stores, i.e. pro Chota Capitalists and anti Bada Capitalists with no regards for the customer who has benefited by Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) being sold at below MRP because of Big Stores. 

The following is an analysis of the FDI in Retail issue. 


We can all agree that competition is good and that too much protectionism will lead to inefficiencies that affects the consumer's pocket. 

The discussion between who to protect and how to go about doing it is a never ending debate. In the absence of data there is a lot of conjecture. People cite trends abroad. Jobs are being lost due to increased productivity due to automation. Malls are closing down in the US. Internet commerce is chomping away at the Brick and Mortar store's market share. Many store fronts serve as "demo" centers to customers who often buy off the web from someone else. But India is different. Frankly I haven't seen lots of Kirana Stores vanishing. 

So I prefer the "pocket book" test. Customers vote with their pocket and that is an undeniable fact. So the debate ought to be on how can we promote a better customer experience without cratering our Forex situation and affecting sovereignty.

There are "multibrand retail stores operated by foreign companies. There was SPARS in Mangaluru - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spar_(retailer) now taken over by Auchan - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auchan

Interestingly a lot of goods sold at Auchan (nee SPAR) are made in India. That brings up the issue of repatriation of profits. 

So it seems this opposition is an aversion to WALMART probably because they are big and mired in controversy in the US. Low wages, contract workers, no health insurance, squeezing of suppliers, etc.

Please bear in mind that the "Chota Capitalists" also ignore worker benefits and many of their workers sleep on the streets. If AAP truly believes in Equality and Fairness, then regulate the "Chota Capitalist" as well. 

Regardless of "isms'. Left or Right, we can all agree that Jobs and Progress are directly proportional to the amount of Capital. And yes there can be bad progress and good progress as well as good and bad employment practices. And so Progress and Employment Practices have to be regulated. 

Capital can come primarily from from the State like in China or from Private Sources (that people tend to think) like in the US. Both US and China have State and Private Capital circulating in their economies. China has extended interest free loans to towns and cities, who are taking their own sweet time paying back. No interest means no repayment pressure. The US creates Capital literally from thin air and has pumped over 3 Trillion Dollars since 2008 to keep their economy afloat. Besides printing money, the Federal Reserve electronically transfers money at a very low interest rate to Banks. It is called Quantitative Easing, it is accomplished by a few key strokes at a computer and 85 Billion Dollars is pumped into the economy every month. Now there is talk of Tapering, which means the Fed intends to reduce the amount it creates from thin air.

So AAP has to figure out where the Capital is going to come from. The Indian Government does not have the luxury of creating Capital out of thin air like the US does and our Forex Reserves are not so high as China that we can print money either.

Sunday, January 12, 2014

Mike Rana's Letter to Arvind Kejriwal


Mike Rana makes eminent sense in his letter. I hope at least one (or more) of the AAP members this was sent to, will give this to AK45 and pass it on to other principals to read and internalize.


Mr Arvind Kejriwal, the new CM of Delhi, Do you have the time for an open letter?


Wow

You took Delhi by storm. You presented to the people an image of direct participation and named the party as AAP (ordinary people party). It was a party with no specific and no special people. Ordinary person was cleverly defined as an honest and non-criminal person, regardless of how much wealth he held. You Sir, cleverly used the props of a welfare state, namely eradication of the VIP culture in the country, supply of free water, reduced cost of electricity, enactment of anti corruption bill, improvement in education (500 schools in the city), increase in medical care (500 hospitals), subsidies to the farmers and the like. These were precisely the attractions that communist leaders have been giving historically to the citizens. Sadly, though, this form of politics has failed to survive in spite of the welfare state that it promised to build for the citizens. Stalin, went ahead to even demolish people in order to create a new humanity. If at all, the welfare paradigm survived only in capitalistic countries like Canada or Australia etc. People there seem to be happy and prosperous. It obviously means a country cannot govern itself without the backing of the capitalists. Almost naturally, and by compulsion, India chose the paradigm of crony capitalism. So far, it is working, though with jolts and hiccups.
You differed from the textbook communists, and we accepted this approach.
  • You flashed a dream of a semi-welfare state
  • You did not oppose the capitalists except for those who became rich by illegal means
  • You highlighted the menace of corruption that was troubling a common man in daily life
  • You did not specify formation of a vanguard party to take care of the labour
  • Instead, you broke the impregnable wall that separates the rulers from the ruled

Arvind Kejriwal appealed to the people, particularly the diligent ones, and to the imposing vote bank of the poor. He succeeded and became an unprecedented Indian Chief Minister who refused to be anyone other than an ordinary man. He refused security, vanity lights on the car, traditionally large bungalow and other perks. He will be remembered in history. Isn’t it amazing that this had to happen in the capital city of India that is the centre of actions in the run up to the general elections in May-2014. It made waves in the minds of people but created turmoil in the minds of other parties who were planning the manifestos for these elections. Should they follow his approach and make sweeping changes?

Oops

Mr Chief Minister, things will not be a bed of roses; this is well known, but the fear is that you may turn it into a fireplace. By the way, why are the traditional communist factions of the country not supporting you? Are they jealous, fearful of their own standing or they are unconvinced about your approach? Do they sense failure?
Even if we grant you the miraculous win that you administered, here are the blunders that you made:
  • There was absolutely no need to commit on numbers like 700 litres of free water, or dates that within 15 days the anti-corruption Lokpal bill for the Delhi state would be enacted. People would have sensed your initiatives and granted you at least 65 days, they accommodated the previous governments for 65 years. They suffered but they did not question them at all. So why would they have questioned you?
  • The removal of vanity lights or flags is a decent step but you should have highlighted that this is being done to ease the city traffic woes, and to reduce government expenditure on mobile security
  • There is no logic in refusing the security of the z-class, which all other VIPs, including some corporate magnates, enjoy. You or your colleagues’ lives are no longer personal. They are owned by the citizens now, and you have no right to betray them by falling prey to a crafted accident or a terror attack. In addition, you have a mission to complete.
  • By delving into un-necessary detail about the residential accommodation, you have opened a Pandora box of conflicts. The opposition will twist and turn your statements in the direction that suits them. No one on earth expects the ministers and the Chief Minister, to live in a two or 3-room apartment when they are expected to conduct a number of public meetings at home. They have to hold protocol oriented functions and events in their offices or even homes.  Please do not take it as VIP culture; it is mandatory to hold these meetings.
  • The free flowing statements and commitments that come from the CM or the ministers are no doubt reassuring but too many of them at too short frequencies are counterproductive. They raise suspicion that the whole act is a drama, being enacted to foster public support for the national election, which is of a much bigger volume and effort.
  • There was no need to tell the voters that you will not take support from the others. You should have used the word other, without naming a party. Is the country not accustomed to coalition, alliance and changing fidelities? Moreover, when others ridicule you on the alliance that you entered into, probably necessitated by the needs of the others, the simple answer is the time is here for coalition government. This is what all the others say.

These are petty and mundane issues unworthy of your personal attention, except that your generals must be cautioned for not repeating these mistakes for the future elections.

An articulate spokesperson or two must be appointed to stop the buck. They should be drenched in your core policies so that they do not falter nor contradict, while speaking. They would be the protective wall between your ministers who are still in the learning process, and the seasoned opposition politicians who are well versed in playing the blame game. They should be exposed to the media only progressively, as they gain confidence.

We all sense the deficit of professionals in your core team, particularly for the larger perspective of the national politics and elections. You have a few but you need at least 30 or 40 party positions more. People are required for selecting the candidates, for managing the project management office, preparing manifestos, managing the databases of people, establishing systems and procedures that are efficient and error proof, etc. In addition, seasoned mentors are required for training the new entrants on the party policies. Mr Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Kumar Vishwash and Sanjay Singh will have to think. Sir, you need both thinkers, and executers.

AAP can certainly bid for the Lok Sabha

Should AAP go in full throttle for the national elections or not, is a question for another discussion, but certainly, it should obtain dominance in a few states. Should Arvind Kejriwal pit himself directly against Narendra Modi or Rahul Gandhi, is probably a pre-mature debate. The main worry is of being complacent that Delhi results would be repeated in other states. However the golden rule here is, to show your work in Delhi, before the month of May-2014 by prioritising the activities that will show an impact on the daily life of the citizens of Delhi. Then, there will be a chance.

Remodelled Socialism

Here is a suggestion about how execution of tasks must be conducted and what political paradigm goes with it. In my second book, “A wonderful world – Dreams and Reality (2014-325 pages),” the concept of remodelled socialism has been defined and elaborated. This is a prudent concept that lies somewhere between socialism and crony-capitalism.
Remodelled socialism is a proposal that allows the present day crony-capitalism to co-exist officially with democracy. It is a clever technique of preventing crony-capitalism to flourish into comprehensive capitalism or letting it consume democracy. It acknowledges the fact that no form of governance can be sustained without the active and willing participation of the capitalists.
Remodelled Socialism entails reorientation of power circles of cronies, i.e. the nexus between politicians and capitalists, by incorporating a third collaborator, the citizens in that framework. At different levels of decision-making and work execution, capable and transparent citizens join in as partners, facilitators and counsellors but not as spies, auditors or whistle blowers. The golden rule that we lay down here is that no violence should take place.

Remodelled Socialism is a revamped version of socialism, which is devoid of the ills that plagued socialism in the past. It is a mechanism, which restores the eroded communication between the people and their leaders. And it provides additional people resources for governance. But its implementation is not as easy as can be written in words. In the ideal format, an aura should be created so that the appointed executives and enshrined leaders are motivated to call in the citizen expertise and experience for the government establishments, rather than the public making this demand through demonstrations, agitations or hostile representations.

Good Luck

It is no wonder that, bewitched by the Arvind Kejriwal success, other parties have started bringing down the impregnable wall between themselves and the people; a wall that they painstakingly built over the years. But there is a difference between what is done from the heart and what is motivated by fabricated flaunting. For example, the Citizen Durbars (gatherings) started by the others are dominated by one-way speeches, instead of the free flowing dialogue. It appears that the comparatively smaller audience is carefully picked to ensure that awkward questions are not asked; only planted questions are allowed, and the justification for the scanty attendances is security. The z-category security ensures the leader does not come in contact with the people, which is the original aim of such initiatives. When the leaders visit the poor at night, the camera is not on the people but on the leader. Arvind Kejriwal’s words amply explain this difference. ”Hamari Niyat Theek hai, ” our intentions are noble and theirs are not. Undoubtedly, AK is on a mission, ‘catch me if you can’.
We have to wait and watch how AK converts his present strategy of participatory democracy with the tinge of communism, towards remodelled socialism. Will the capitalists of the country or the world, permit him realisation of this dream? AK will be well advised to shift the gears from direct participation of Aam Admi to formalised participation of honest and diligent experts in governance. The middle class of the urban areas will follow you if you demonstrate quality governance. The rural areas will flock behind you if show allegiance to their cause as an Aam Aadmi.