Faith in modern institutions is shaken

The truth and the ideal are very different. The Supreme Court makes laws, but they are not implemented. Various sexual harassment cases are, and they are kept pending in court for a very long time. The committees constituted fail to give reports. A senior retired judge has been named as harassing an female intern and this is shocking. Laws like the Vishaka judgement in 1997 or domestic violence Act 2007, cannot help women, when their women's rights are transgressed by those who make the laws themselves. Many times the Supreme Court helps the "upper privileged class" For instance the Flats of Campa Cola Society at Mumbai were going to be demolished on November 15,2013 as they were built illegally. But the occupants who wee from the privileged class had made protests, and had appealed, and it was postponed till May 2014. This gives them enough time to find a proper solution. Thousands of time, lower class citizens living in slums were forced out of their homes and were never given time to find alternate arrangements. Their cries were never heard by Supreme Court or any court. The law should be same for all, whether upper class citizens or lower class people. There is lack of coherence. The uncertainty in the process of making laws. There is double standard for different kind of citizens and this shakes our faith in the judicial system. People have lost faith in the democratic institutions, including the legal courts. Now people have taken other methods of resolving conflicts. As only the rich can afford lawyers and courts, and the courts give favourable judgements to those who have best lawyers, the poor cannot afford best lawyers and they never get the right judgements. The time taken by courts to resolve makes the whole process unworthy. Extra legal methods have emerged, like "khap panchayats", "kuchery" village courts etc. People believe in activists more and more now. Some have resorted to violence of the Naxals now, the resolution is speedy. This is very sad, that we have no faith in the law making bodies, no faith in democratic institutions. This is actually a step backwards in civilization. What will the future be like when no one believes in courts? We must believe that God will teach us how to live......    

Cost of living

We are consuming more than we produce. Agriculture has become better than ever before, but we are not producing enough for feeding ourselves, and the prices of the food items are very very high. We importing  while paying in dollars and that has affected our economy too much. Electioneering politicians are concentrating on using divisions like religion and caste for getting votes. But they can get votes by by saying how they will bring about agricultural reforms. Vegetables and fruits cost high and there is no way to control it as there is no "minimum support price" for it. Does the farmer know how much of what to grow, so that he can  provide us with that? No, Nobody told the farmer what to grow. There was once too much potatoes, and now there is scarcity. They have to be taught to observe market trends. Market intelligence is urgently needed. There is no one to fill in the gap. SO government must step in. National stability is now getting upset over price of vegetables. There is need to re-build the agricultural infrastructure. Reconstruction of agricultural society must take place from the grass roots. The small and marginal farmers who have left forming must b encouraged to grow crops again. Children of farmers have left agriculture and have moved on to other professions. And there is discontinuity in agricultural society. Many have moved to urban India and have become daily wage earners. They have lost faith in agriculture because they had experienced losses. With the input costs being high, they were not able to produce enough to make profits. The poor farmers need assistance, loans, micro-financing, and some kind of insurance. The rich rural farmer or the big land lords are making big profits. He can afford the high production costs, and seek assistance and is aware of market trends; he knows how to hoard away and sell at the time of scarcity. The rich farmer grows richer. Vegetables become costlier, onion prices have risen 300%. Now we must do something to stop further rise.

Believing in India

When foreign brokerage firms evaluate Indian markets and comment on political climate, it is taken seriously. Because it is election time. One of the electioneering contestants was boosted while predicting investor sentiment without having true vision of the political set up in India. The state which has many industries has given many tax exceptions to industrialists, not all of India is like this. A contestant from that state is expected to become the next leader, and that cannot be predicted. We have a weak unstable government which has resulted in creating a judiciary which is now making laws. We also have a highly reactive media which causes panic among citizens. The people have lost all confidence and are just not interested in investing in the industries.And investor reaction drives markets. Sluggish markets mean slow growth. Corporates have been an agent of change. Corporates never down-grade themselves, the growth has been 4.4% in the first quarter of this year. That is a positive sign, as we are coming out of the slow-down.
Since, we have been upgraded by opinion of foreign brokerage firms, and that is a positive comment which would further boost investment in India. FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) has increased by 35% Services sector has contributed more than the manufacturing sector. We cannot think backwards, we cannot change policies by going back in time. We can only think forward. What matters is the kind of policy we would adopt after the elections(five states are going to the polls right now) There are limits to what the government can do. Can the government control prices of commodities? No. The markets control prices. If the different parties elected form a club and try to think it out, it may work. Or if a small party comes to power, and it takes the advice of the best minds, it will work out also.
What will help is a climate where uncertainty is removed, fear psychosis is removed. Then, investor confidence will increase tremendously. The Indians outside India would invest in India, taking advantage of tax reductions. The world has confidence on Indians, for we are the best.Let us believe in ourselves.

Election Promises

Election promises are being made by all candidates. One is promising 35 Kilograms of cereal. Another is promising laptop for students. Another is promising free electricity for small motors in their fields for irrigation. Everyone of the voters are insecure as economy is in a very bad condition, cost of living is very high. Cost of food items, cost of consumer durables, cost of accommodation are all very very high. Most people are poor, but India at the same time has 103 billionaires.
When voters are asked what they want, they ask for good roads, continuous electricity, for good hospitals and for good educational institutions. And none of the  candidates promise that. Basics are in the minds of people but not in the those electioneering.
While electioneering in the tribal regions, some(politicians) claim that they have generational links with the tribes. And that his father knew them, and that his grandmother knew them. But that is irrelevant, he does not have any connection with them. An educated person can understand that, but uneducated tribals do not. They feel the affinity. Electioneering works well on the uneducated people. What kind of leaders are being elected? Will these leaders truly understand the needs of the people? For self-preservation, these leaders may keep these people uneducated. What would future be like while they elect unworthy candidates?