Incredible India We Live In

As the country marked it 62nd Independence Day recently , the challenges before the country are aplenty.As India strives for economic prosperity and look to be seen as a major force to reckon with in the world , we must be focussed on what we as a country has set out to achieve. Fact is that in today's times , every country wants to stamp its supremacy over the other.Rather than concentrating on removing poverty , illiteracy , generation of more jobs , better healthcare facilities in its own backyard, every country looks upon anxiously what's happening in rest of competing nations.If someone is of viewpoint that administration in developed economies are willing to work hand in hand with emerging nations such as India to abolish poverty , illiteracy and make it a better place to live in , then that person is living in fool's paradise. Everything comes at a price. That's why developing economies such as India need to concentrate more on strengthening its basic infrastructure , bring agricultural development back on track along with increased economic growth , protect the interest of farmers working in villages , make sure various rural schemes really reaches the needy , superior healthcare facilities in remote areas and the make sure farmers residing in villages are very much part of economic prosperity we all look forward to achieve.Population control should be on top of government's agenda which is root cause of all the major problems country is facing. Increased power generation , better roads , less dependence on rains and self sufficient as a country need to be our top priority.'Our' includes government as well as we citizens.We just can't leave everything on government to realize.We need to contribute much more.

Handling terrorism and sending a stern message to terrorist groups outside as well as within the country who plan to hinder country's road to progress is very much vital.India for long in identified as a soft target but that needs to change.Government should wake up to the challenge and realize this is one of major roadblocks which can hinder country's overall growth.Terrorism , Jihad , War On Terror , On going unrest in Afganistan and parts of Pakistan , attrocities on innocent people labeled as terrorists , thousands of coalition forces soldiers perished in this never ending war , ever other day U.S 's famous drone attacks killing innocent civilians...this is the world we live in where no one feels safe.In these uncertain times , reorganizing and reviewing internal security along with guarding country's borders , coastlines is imminent.Stringent laws need to be in place and speedy trials should be in place.Lethargic pace of Indian judicial system needs a revamp in a big way.

Uprooting corruption which can eat into the the roots of any nation is so very required.More and more transparency is required to be brought into the system.A lot has been said and written about it but its high time everyone in the system works towards bringing the change.

I don't want this post to be a kind of one wherein one just talk and talk.We all need to realize our responsibilities as citizens of this wonderful country and thrieve to change the system for good and the rest will follow.We together have to take the lead.

H1N1 : Join in the Fight Against the Deadly Virus

'ViewPoint' has been idle for more than a month now for the first time since its launch.I have tried to keep blog updated with the latest happenings all the way through but this time it took a while. Apologies for that.I am sure it is first and last time something like this has happened and going forward you will have find lots of thought provoking discussions here of which you would like to be part of.
Pune is in the news for last few days because of being worst hit by H1N1 and reporting maximum number of Swine Flu related cases. Death toll as of today has gone up to 17 with three more deaths reported from a government run Sassoon hospital at Pune. All schools , colleges , malls , multiplexes have been shut for a week as a precautionary measure and rightly so .I am sure you all know what i have said till now and maybe also what i will stress on in the rest of post but do keep below points in mind as always prevention is better than cure.
Please wash your hands regularly.Very significant.Wash your hands especially after returning back from your work. Maybe this flu will induce some good habits in each one of us.
Do avoid crowded places. Try to spend as much time at home. Avoid malls , multiplexes or other crowded places.
Do get enough sleep for sure as to your immune system is fighting fit.
As always drink plenty of water.
Dont panic if your develop flu like symptoms.Consult your family physician.Dont rush straight to testing centres.At testing centres there is high probability of you coming in contact with virus.
Take extra care if you have infant at your home.Very significant as his/her immune system is not that resistant to H1N1.So take extra precautions.
Don't go to work or school , college etc if you have fever.
Avoid touching your nose , eyes , mouth.
These are basic steps your need to keep in mind.Keep yourself informed as to steps take by government to deal with the problem.

Do remember deadly virus is spreading from human to human transmission.So keep away from anyone who develop such symptoms.
These are some of the basic steps to fight the flu.Don't panic but at the same time do take necessary precautions and don't act smart as if you can never be infected by it.It can happen to anyone.Follow some basic steps and help the government and country to fight this deadly virus.

Viewpoint is back......

Its been over a month and half since the last post at 'Viewpoint'. Apologies for that.
Do look forward for some interesting discusssions and Viewpoint on things that matter to us and our country the most soon only at 'Viewpoint'.

Salil

Tragedy Over Atlantic : An End No one Deserved.....

What must be going through an individual's mind when they come to term with fact that the huge Airbus carrying 228 people on board is on the brink of crashing into the Atlantic , an ocean which covers one fifth of earth's surface and stretches upto 41.1 million square miles and they are going to be history in next few moments. All their life long plannings , job , home , meetings , loved ones : gone in a split second. How much helpless a mother would have felt holding her few months old baby in her hand waiting for the inevitable ? What terrible few moments those must have been with a big airbus submerging into a gigantic ocean carrying 228 people of different nationalities with thunderstorms adding to the misery. A nightmare , a disaster? - it seems these words also fall short . What ever sins a person may have done , no one deserves such a tragic end. Just give it a thought. Put yourself for a second in their place and you will feel that chill.
Its not that tragedy of such large scale has occoured for the very first time but the fact remains that still inspite of best of technologies on avail, there have been technical snags or communication gap that has cost human life.In this post atleast we won't be going into the details as to reasons that might have led to the crash. Let's come together to remember and pay our tributes to those 228 people who lost their lives in this 'air catastrophe'. May their soul rest in peace.It also reminds us that life is so unpredictable and we should live every passing day as if it is the last day of our lives.

Foreign Students : A country's true Ambassadors

A series of racial attacks on Indian students studying in Australia is shocking. 25 year old Shravan Kumar stabbed by screw driver by a group of teens is fighting for his life at a Melboune hospital. Even more shocking is excuse of local police who point to expensive gadgets such as mobile phones , iPod possessed by Indian students as the possible reasons which encourage such attacks. We all hope that Shravan will get well soon and Australian government will take steps on the ground to prevent such attacks in future and bring back student's confidence which has taken a big hit.

It also point to fact as to how we Indians should also treat foreign students and tourists who visit our country .There has been a series of rape cases in India in recent years involving foreign students , tourists as victims. Its a big shame as country's image take a beating as a result of such unpardonable acts.

Students, tourists are true ambassadors a country on foreign soil and they must take back pleasent memories of visiting country and not the hate crimes or racial abuses meted out at them.

Indian National Congress : Beginning of the rebuilding process

It has been a spectacular past week for the Congress lead UPA coalition which came back to power at centre with all guns blazing.Even more stunning has been Congress performance which by far exceeded its own expectations and bagged a whopping 206 seats.When everyone was predicting a highly fractured mandate with parties such as BSP, AIADMK , Left , BJD playing a crucial role in next government formation , it was not to be.Maybe people have voted for a stable government at the centre whom they believe is best suited to tackle difficult economic scenario , terrorism threat, can make difference to life of people living below povery line , can improve education and healthcare facilities , can boost agriculture production and understand plight of farmers. Lots and lots of expectations,so its time to get to work for Dr.Singh and his team.

Dr.Manmohan Singh is back as country's PM , a spectacular feat . Such electoral performance will hopefully enable the government to work much more effectively and possibly less hindrances from the coalition partners. Dr.Singh now can push reforms process at a much rapid pace than he can in his first term as PM.

In next couple of posts we will analyze each leading political party in India's democratic setup in detail and will provide our viewpoint as to where it stands today.'Where it stands today' doesn't necessarily implies analyzing how much seats a party won in General Elections 2009.We will have a bit more comprehensive study of the party , its organisation , its leaders , its policies as such.This is significant as in coming years to come either one of the national parties, the Congress and the BJP will have to play a pivotal role in providing stable government at the centre and taking major policy decisions as to take the country forward.Let's begin Part - I with the Indian National Congress.

Indian National Congress is seen as grand old party of India which played a significant role in country's freedom struggle.Right from first Congress session at Bombay in 1885 under President 'Womesh Chandra Bonnerjee' till the 82nd one under party president 'Sonia Gandhi' at Hyderabad a lot has changed.We won't be going too much into the freedom struggle and years after independence as at that time their was only one party i.e. Congress in charge. After the assassinations of its most dynamic leaders - Mrs Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi and untimely death of young and dynamic leaders such as Rajesh Pilot, Madhav Rao Scindia, party has been fighting desperate battle for survival. Sonia Gandhi, inspite of her foreign origin issue infused new lease of life into the party and almost single handedly lead party to a surprise victory in General Elections 2004. Proposing name of Manmohan Singh as party's choice for P.M was a masterstroke which not even her own party expected.Inspite of running coalition successfully for 5 years and being single largest party by far , Congress as a party is still in rebuilding process. It has still a lot to achieve in states such as Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal where it still has marginal presence till date. Let's take state by state right from Jammu and Kashmir to TamilNadu and analyze party's position as of today.

Jammu and Kashmir:Party need to increase grassroot level support and a dynamic leader on lines of Omar Abdullah is the need of hour.Organization at state level needs immediate attention.Party needs to get rid of its dependence on NC or the PDP.

Himachal Pradesh:Who after 'Virbhadra Singh'? Again in Himachal Pardesh which boosts of 4 lok sabha seats (Shimla , Kangra , Mandi , Hamirpur ) , party is unable to match Dhumal's appeal among the voters.It barely managed to win Mandi this time.Leaders willing to work for people and take party workers at grass root level alongside are required.Performance is the key in the current setup.

Punjab : Punjab Congress has suffered for long because of internal bickering between Amarinder Singh and Rajinder Kaur Bhattal.It first needs to get its own house in order in the state and make sure young leaders are provided ample space to prove themselves.Punjab is lagging behind as regards development and this is a big oppourtunity for the party to make amends.

Haryana : Bhajan Lal has floated his own party and Hooda is in charge of party in the state now.Party needs to continue with the development initiatives and again needs to get rid of infighting which is more of a challenge then INLD-BJP combine in the state.Deliever and voted back to power is the mantra for Hooda.He's doing pretty well at the moment.

Delhi : Not much to write about Delhi.Sheila Dikshit is doing good job if not excellent. She has set a benchmark for other state CM's.

Rajasthan : Ashok Gehlot has great oppourtunity to deliever on the promises he made this time around.He has benefitted more from internal power struggle within BJP in the state then his own charisma.Parallely need to make sure party expands its base in the state and win back the Dalit votes which are have inclined towards BSP this time.There's need to induce new life in local leadership and someone who works for party at grassroots while Gehlot takes care of state government.Again weak organization structure need to be worked upon.

Uttar Pradesh : This state has lead to Congress resurgence this time around.No one expected it to win 21 seats in the state but Rahul mantra to go it alone worked wonders.Grassroot workers which build the party in real sense have seen a ray of hope but this needs to be taken forward.A young dynamic leader at state level is so very significant to match the likes of Mayawati , Mulayam.Crucial state for the Congress ahead and there shouldn't be any room for complecency.

Madhya Pradesh : This hindi heart land state boosts of so many top leaders among the party such as Kamal Nath , DigVijay Singh , Jyotiratidya Scindia but still there remains a big void for a leader who can devote full time to the state politics.The party performed above expectations bagging 10 seats in the state but winning back the state will need lot more work on the ground.

Chattisgarh : Enough of Ajit Jogi. Revamping state organization is imminent now. Corrupt , non performing leaders need to go.1 out of 11 seats is pathetic performance by any means.

Gujarat - Who's face of party in the state? Again inspiring mass leader to match Modi is required.

Maharastra : Party has faired lot better than NCP this time.Need to concentrate more to provide an effective government in the state and especially focus on urban development and agriculture , especially Vidharbha region .

Andhra Pardesh : YSR has done it again this time with spectacular performance (33 Lok Sabha seats and coming back to power in state).Again government performance is the key.Need to continue from where he left.

Karnataka : Again party desperately needs a face in the state to provide stiff challenge to BJP.

Tamil Nadu : Enough of DMK blackmailing.Party needs to consolidate grass root support and make sure it handles Tamil issue well with Sri Lanka.

Kerala : LDF has been knocked off this time.Congress lead UDF needs to bring in new faces such as it brought by giving ticket to dynamic leaders such as Shashi Tharoor.

Orrisa : Navin Patnaik is the boss here. Party will need to strength its grassroot support.J.B Patnaik should be on his way out.

West Bengal, Jharkhand and Bihar : Party needs to infuse new lease of life into the state units.No face of party in the states

NE states - Party need to solve internal bickerings again.Need more representation at Delhi.

Country has given almost a decisive mandate to a stable government headed by Congress this time and it needs to deliver on economy , education , healthcare , infrastructure development and other key sectors. Agriculture need special attention and rural development schemes need to be more effective and reach the needy.Waiving of farmer loans can be short term fix for a problem but not a permanent solution to the sad plight of farmers who deserve a lot better. Terrorism is something which will need to be tackled stringently.India needs to much more resilient in international arena.More and more sophisticated weaponary needs to be inducted into the army , navy and airforce and concerns of defence forces such as revision of pay and pension need to be addressed immediately.List of challenges for new government goes on and on.....

Parallely the party needs to strengthen its organization with more responsibilities to the young elected MP's. Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi in the party organization and Manmohan Singh handling government seems to be working well.But party is much more besides Sonia and Rahul.Youngsters in the party needs to be proactive and come forward and take ownership for the party work.They should be talking about development issues and not about communal politics.Young guns taking the party forward should realize that today's electorate vote for stability , performance , no communialism , no hate politics. Rahul and his young team should work towards expanding party base and make sure people willing to work for the country become part of the team which deliver.This is best time for youngsters who want to take a plunge in the politicial scenario and do something meaningful for the country to be part of leading national parties , either the Congress and BJP and work towards a better India.Youngsters in politics shouldn't be restricted to the likes of Gandhi's, the Pilot's , the Scindia's who came to politics more because of their political background.Politics today is becoming much more competitive and they also will have to prove themselves to stay afloat as transition of electorate to vote for politicians who perform will grow by each passing elections. 'Perform or Perish' will be the norm.Its not just question of the Congress or the BJP , its the question of changing the dynamics of Indian politics for good.There needs to be a good blend of experienced as well as new young faces in the government so as to balance things out.At the end of the day, everyone's aim should be to address problems of common people and make sure all sections of society be taken together towards a prosperous India. We as citizens too need to contribute and can't just sit on sidelines and keep cribbing.We just can't expect government to do everything to improve our lives but we also need to raise our voice against anything which harms the integrity , prosperity , peace of our country.

As regards the Congress party , this is just the beginning of rebuilding phase for a party which has risen from the dead. A lot more will be needed for the party to win full majority of its own.People will closely gauge the government's performance over the next five years.With mandate comes 'responsibility' of a billion people who hope their lives will change for good......

Lacklustre Voting Percentage: Who to blame?

All political parties are the same , intense heat wave conditions , no good candidates, no significant issues etc etc - we as citizens of India have developed a habit of blaming everything on our political setup and maybee learnt to shy away from our responsibilites. After a dismal voting percentage in metros such as Mumbai , Pune, there were a series of endless debates on news channels and everyone questioned ability of political parties to enthuse voters.I think this time quite a lot of good independent candidates were in the fray whom one could have voted for if the two mainstream national parties didn't deserve your vote. Apart from that Lok Sabha elections is more about who will make the next government and an unstable government in these difficult times (when recession effect is looming large) can very well stall the economic growth of the country.Not exercising your right to vote is unpardonable.How often we debate on making politicians accountable for how they have faired in the last five years but we as citizens are also accountable and should exercise our right to vote. Let's stop cribbing over government's performance and do our bit first to bring about the change.