Birth of a Great Saint is celebrated

Today is celebrated as birthday of our saint Guru Nanak Guru Devji. He was the first of the ten Holy Saints in  India, he showed people how to live. Sikhs pray only their Holy Book, "the Granth Sahib Ji".The Sikhs are a courageous people who had mainly lived  in the state of Punjab.Now they have migrated to other parts of India and to other countries.Today,there are 26 million Sikhs all over the world. They firmly believe in equality and unity; they pray together in their "Gurudwara" which is their temple. They celebrate the birth anniversaries of their Holy Saints.And after prayer they share meals at a community dining place called the "langar".Their view of God is different from Hindus. They call their God,"Vahiguru" and their God is represented by their holy book.They believe that God is shapeless, timeless and unseen(no idol worship).The only way to see God is by seeing with the inner eye by deep meditation.That does not mean one has to renounce the world and take up asceticism.The religion  teaches its people the need to live simple life of a householder.One of the Sikh Gurus, Guru Teg Bahadur decided to make his followers  who were 'Sikh',meaning learners, into a community of 'fighters'. In their baptizing ceremony, boys are named as 'Singh' or lions.And girls are given last name as 'Kaur' or princess.They are a brave and valiant people, they had defended India against foreign invaders and saved the timid people of India from cruelty. Even today they show preference to military service. They excel in all fields and show perseverance, skill and hard work in any profession they choose.Their 'Gurubani' or the holy songs are highly inspirational, and elates listener to a higher spiritual sphere. They remember all their ten Gurus and learn from their life stories in their Holy Book.They make their livelihood honestly  and always work very hard to succeed. Long live the Sikhs, may they continue protecting us all as they had through the centuries..

A Growing state with a strong will to succeed

Long ago(3decades back),the 'white revolution', that is production of milk and processing it through a network of cooperatives had started here,in Gujarat.Now there is 'green revolution' as farmers have merged their farmers to make Cooperative Farms which are large and have modernized the mode of production.For some states growth seems very natural, so industrialization comes easy for Gujarat.It has the highest GDP compared to other states and the national average.Gujarat has had double digit growth for several years in a row. But growth or progress is not just measured by wealth, but many other indices: growth in agriculture, education, governance, infrastructure and macro economy. It has most factories, big industries, oil refineries, because the government is attracting industrialists to invest here. 
Gujarat grew and grew.Traders from Gujarat live all over India and world, want to invest in their own state.Gujarati traders who want to invest here and take this opportunity to gain identity in their home state.More than anything else, industries thrive here because there is mass poverty which spells cheap labor force.The poor people are extremely docile,who have to earn daily wages for daily bread; and the industrialists are extremely ambitious business men who can make best use of abundant labor.This combinations is just right for speedy industrialization. The grueling poverty seems like a pre-condition for industrial growth. Industrialization is taking place fast.
Industries are cordially invited.'Maruti-suzuki' had plans to move to Gujarat from Haryana state where there were strikes; 'nano' has set up factory in 14 months here when it took 28 months in West Bengal(where new land policy has driven out 'nano')Physical infrastructure has been delivered by governments as framing of  positive policies, and the governance is excellent. Government can be accessed by anyone on-line, and  any question can be asked.Here,anyone can go meet the leader who was elected.As soon as changes in the IT Act 2000 as new 'Rules framed in 2011' are made, they will be updated here first.To improve efficiency of power in the state 'eUrja' is to be implemented soon.The leaders here are one step ahead ushering in progress.
Urbanization came in leaps and bounds here.Within a span of two decades, villages became towns; and towns into cities.People are very active and the conditions were right for growth.People are tuned to work. Women work from home making small scale cottage industries.Men were active outside-- working and trading.
Few lapses.Education and health are indices in which it lags behind.Gujarat's workforce exhibit weak predisposition, their health has deteriorated as number of anemic cases have become very very high now.But social infrastructure does not indicate progress.Democratic organizations should empower people and raise living standards of all.White revolution still used old mode of technology. In traditional homesteads,women milk the cows  and take the milk to cooperatives' collection centers in pots carrying it on their heads.There are no modern dairy farms with milking machines and tankers. Industrialists here  know how to use toiling women  for making ultra modern milk processing units and packaged milk products. Perfect example of modern methods to exploit masses who are willingly engaging in tasks involving drudgery.Instead of industrializing Dairy farms, they are using the innocent people squeezing them out completely pushing them to the limits of existence.They know how to make perfect network of exploitation. The true success of an effective industrial policy is in modernization of the mode of production with.Wealth and industries do not indicate progress.Collective movement to development is a true growth paradigm, not just growth of one section of society(the rich industrialists only).The new manufacturing policy has plans for new industrial clusters planed for Gujarat, so there is going to be great development in Gujarat;hopefully the simple people's lot will  improve too. To succeed by all means is meritorious, but not at the cost of the weak and poor. The weaker class will have a poor quality of life and shorter life-span but the state will be fully industrialized. We want all to develop and have healthy long life.

Festival for Remembering Sacrifice

Today, "Eid" was celebrated by followers of the Islam. There are 14 million Muslims in India. They had celebrated by going to the 'Eidgah' and mosques for morning prayers. There is peace and serenity in the silent way they pray;and there is unity and discipline in their way of worship together. After prayers, they wish each others 'Eid' greetings and hug to convey feelings of brotherhood. They remembered their prophet who had offered his son to their God. And God asked for a sacred goat instead.They shared their 'Eid' feast with relatives.They make sure to give money for charity. After their prayers the children seek blessing of their elders who give them money to spend at the markets nearby. At a single festival, we can see their feeling of brotherhood among the Muslim people, their spirit of sharing with the poor, their joy of  feasting with relatives, their love for children, and their deep reverence for their prophet in the prayers. Such a joyous festival is the most admirable among all common festivals.They are a peace loving people who value love for family, who value brotherhood, who have empathy for less privileged and who have great reverence for God.
Muslims in India are an integral part of our national life,many are surgeons, many are judges,many are scientists, lecturers artists musicians and so on. In any field they choose,  Muslim people will excel and will reach the top for they are perfect scholars. And they are very honest in any businesses they engage in.And they are devoted artists.They exhibit perfect skills in several professions.
In India, the Islamic people have cohabited the subcontinent with us for one thousand years(since the invasion of the Ghaznavids). Although one of the followers of prophet had come to India and settled in Kerala, Islam had spread later only.We have a common culture which cannot be distinguished(separated) now; Persian words have been incorporated in our language, Hindi. Most of legal terms are Persian; terms for land holding, land revenue are also Persian in origin. Our most enjoyable 'Ghazals',and popular songs are in Persian too. The monuments made by the Muslim kings have added crowning glory to the Indian architecture.Indian cooking has also incorporated Persian delights; our dress was from their culture too('salwar-kameez'). Hindi's most courteous and beautiful words are 'Urdu"(Persian) in origin. So many  many Urdu words convey deep feelings .There is no aspect of our life  that we do not share with our Islamic heritage.We are truly  enriched by Islamic culture in India.

Land of coconut palms:An Example in Super-Industrial Society

The state of Kerala is located in the southern part of India. 'Kera' means coconut which is grown in abundance there.People’s culture determines how they take to development and industrialisation.Government's policies are most transparent in implementation in the state of Kerala.Largest number of bank accounts are here; it is called a ’remittance economy’ as citizens depend on remittances sent by their relatives working outside Kerala. It is ranked as the state with highest media exposure; they have highest number of cell phone contacts, they also have highly used broad-band connections. It has the highest Human Development Index comparable to the developed nations.


Best Education and welfare schemes work here. People of Kerala state are EXTREMELY hard-working; and they know that there is only important goal in life and that is to work to make money and send money to their homes in Kerala. They are highly educated (99% literacy rate). The people of Kerala migrate to all parts of India and the world to work as hard as they can and earn. They work in industries all over the world and have grown industries everywhere.They want their state to be clean of pollution and they have always blocked industrialization here. They do not even allow dams to come up; they had claimed that native species of monkey(simavalan) is an endangered genus and if a dam comes up in its habitat it will become extinct, so the “silent valley” projects became silent long long ago. Now legislation has been made to stop the usage of insecticides with chemicals like “endosulfan” which has harmed the health of the people in rubber plantations. Compensations were paid to the families of the affected. Even industrial farming (using inorganic fertilisers & insecticides) is harmful, affecting the people. Because the people are highly educated and seek the best solutions, their state remains green and the people are content. The welfare schemes have become successful and the poor are provided for basic amenities. Their society is diverse in culture (Hindu-56%, Christian-19%, and Muslim-24%) but they are a congenial people, and who are tolerant and peace loving. Out of living together they have evolved a common culture- the Keralite lifestyle.


The industrial society goes together with the nuclear family (man wife and children) but the Keralites live in a ‘super-industrial’ society as solitary man(and independent women) migrate to where jobs are and earning as long as they can;children also learn to value work, when they grow up leave Kerala to a place of their career destinations. That is how they have shaped their culture keeping up with ‘super industrial’ world. All women pursue careers working very hard; and men earn out side Kerala and talk about their favourite subject-politics(this is only a stereotype). They live all over the world and keep in touch with their culture by reading newspapers in their language and by linking with the media (in their language). And as a people they are united in their yearning(like the salmon fish in sea which returns to its home streams) to return to their home towns for the yearly festival of ‘Onam’. They feel on the day of 'Onam', their king, who is in heaven, visits his people to see if they are happy; and they call their homeland “God’s own country”, a fitting name for a land which looks like heaven—always green and beautiful. From air plane or on google maps Kerala looks like a shiny little green gem which it is.

Industrializing India

For rapid industrialisation many conditions are necessary. Many decisions by government are made for growth of industries like improving industrial relations (like minimum wages); and many policies are made on trade for making sale and buying of property easy; and new regulations regarding taxes are being re-made constantly. An amalgamation of several legislation which favour industrialisation went into the making of the 'manufacturing policy'. Formulation may seem very perfect but implementation has several road-blocks especially environmental clearance and land clearance which may cause delays. These can be transparently done by e-auction or e-procurement or e-tendering. For rapid industrialization,  streamlining the processes is very urgent now. Government had given tax-concessions but had delayed clearances. If there are unexpected losses, insurance can save industries. But loss of money due to delays will not be paid by any insurance. Labour laws may work against the newly born industries, causing more loss. Skilled workforce is not easily available; the time taken for training would cause some economic loss to new industries also.
Is industrialization creating new livelihoods? No. Employment generation is what the government wants from industrialisation. But industries grow because they keep minimum workforce as all possible work is fully automated. This will create very few jobs for few skilled people. Government will have to spend more on welfare measures as employment generation is not taking place while industrializing. For getting few jobs, big spendings on 'national policy' (which concentrates on only limited places) is not worth the expenditure. Growth paradigms can be shown as models, so that state governments can initialise steps to industrialise themselves.
If the total ‘loss and gain’ is calculated, more social tension, labour unrest, more inequality will result from the 'new' policy; while pleasing the industrialists the workers' plight will be ignored. Government will spend more on the making of schemes; and taxes that it will receive from industries would be very less. Environmental degradation cannot be erased, and exploitation cannot be addressed justifiably.
But the eternal march of civilisation cannot be stopped and industrialization will take place. We certainly cannot go back to older peasant culture, and industrialisation is here to stay. Overcoming the growing pains is the solution. To provide welfare for the workers--- for making proper homes, schools for making food and health schemes. Better plans are needed for better electricity and water supply, for better roads, for sanitation and waste disposal systems. These are the needs of the ever growing urban India. While industrializing  these have to be addressed to, for the making of future India.

Indians: at work and at prayer

The endless of hours of work occupies our all the moments of our lives,except few moments. We are thankful for all the blessings God us given us. On prayer days we take a break to worship. On the occasion of the “Chhath puja” or the sixth day after Diwali, the Sun and the river are worshipped for giving us life, and for well being of our families. In remote places folk traditions evolved and as people moved and spread to other places, they carried their prayers or their culture with them. This was one of the oldest prayers to the Sun. Although this prayer was not part of Delhi's culture, now it is here. Yesterday, the celebration commenced as prayers were made and sweet rice was shared. Today worshippers brought to the river banks small winnows holding fruits, flowers and sugarcane which were offered to the Sun and to the river. Standing half submerged in the river worshippers prayed, communicating with our creator and the Sun God, thanking for the bounties of the Earth and the water of the rivers. By re-enacting these prayers every year, we thank God for what he has given us. Today they prayed standing in the river facing the setting Sun. Tomorrow morning they will pray standing in the river just before sunrise and offer morning prayers as the Sun rises in the sky; they will be again offering the Sun God, flowers, fruits and sugarcane. We are grateful to the sun god for blessing us with these plants and the environment(Sun) to grow them in. We Indians are genuine worshippers of nature; we realise that it is from the Sun and the waters in the rivers we get food. We humans can survive because of the Sun. In our prayers, and their meanings, we are all united. Let us keep our rivers pure and our environment clean; and be thankful for the energy of the Sun which will always be shining upon us and blessing us.

Who turned the lights off

Electricity now is a 'basic right'. India is lit by electricity from thermal power plants which are fuelled by coal. ‘Coal India’ was a large coal company owned by the government, but now many private firms are mining for coal. When coal reserves will get lower, the private firms would keep a hidden stock, so that they can sell at scarce times. Scarce times are coming. Coal reserves have been exhausted now. Many important power plants do not have reserves and will be in a critical stage when power generation can stop anytime. In panic mode, new policies are being made to acquire more forest area for mining coal.

How are our power plants running? Central Electricity Authority (CEA) says 33 plants (Capacity of 39054 MW) do not have coal security and are running on critical mode. Delhi metropolis is provided with power from Rajghat thermal power house having capacity of 135Mw, and Badarpur plant with capacity of 705MW only .Haryana is powered by Panipat plant with 1360, Yamuna Nagar with 600MW and Indira Gandhi plant with 500MW. Uttar Pradesh has Rihand with 2000MW, Singrauli with 2000MW and Bhilai with 500MW among others.

Who has what? Private firms are trying to acquire coal mines overseas as demand is foreseen. Many private coal firms like Reliance Power, Lanco Infratech, Peabody Energy, Shenhua Energy are acquiring mines in a big way(Peabody-246 mt and Shenhua-256 mt). Moreover coal quality is better in overseas coal. Indian firms are spending much to acquire abroad. Adani acquired Linc Energy of Queensland for $2.72 billion, Reliance Power acquired at Indonesia for $2 billion, GVK group 1.26 million, Lanco acquired at Australia $780 million and GMR acquired coal for $650 million respectively. So we will get coal somehow.

Industries will be worst affected—industries depend on electricity for functioning. They will be running at higher cost than before. And cost of their product would be higher. Power rationing will affect their functioning. There are many industrial areas adjoining the city of Delhi in Haryana state people are used to power rationing. For Delhi’s roads to be lit all night, power from neighbouring Haryana state was cut or reduced. Soon the process of making infrastructure will slow down or stop till the power crisis is over. Plans will be delayed. Factories would all come to a standstill.
We should change over to other sources of energy like solar energy to add to hydroelectric power. Wind energy can be generated in those places where there is high velocity wind. More non-conventional energy sources will be explored when the cost of energy becomes very high.

What will happen to cost of electricity? When the coal prices go up, these coal firms will sell at high cost, power will be generated at a higher cost; and so the cost of electricity will increase. Those poor households, who wanted to pay for getting electricity connection, will not want an electricity connection now; for it is out of their reach now.  Will the poor man (who is able to earn to buy little food only) be able to afford electricity? City municipalities and townships will have to allocate much for keeping the street lights on all night and will increase taxes. And the increased tax of the city municipalities will be paid by the poor citizens. So he will become more impoverished by rising cost of power. The poorest citizens cannot cut down on food bill, so he may be have his home “disconnected” to save on electricity bill. He can change his residence (with lesser rent). For his livelihood he has to live in the town and cannot move away. He will try to earn better (he cannot pay very high municipal tax). He will become the urban poor with no savings. That is the cost of high coal price---making of the modern urban poor. The most burdened man on Earth will have to take more burdens.